USE OF HENNA. 
93 
he would come again towards night. Several of the women 
were employed in adorning the betrothed lady, and they had 
just put on the henna to render her more lovely in the eyes of 
her admirer. This henna, Imvsonia inei^mis, is found in 
great plenty in the interior ; the Moorish women bruise the 
leaves, and obtain from them a pale red tincture which they 
use to brighten their charms. The leaves being bruised and re- 
duced to pulp, this pulp is applied to the various parts of the 
body which they are desirous of staining ; it is kept covered, 
to preserve it from the action of the air, and moistened at in- 
tervals with water in which camel dung has been steeped. The 
colour is five or six hours in fixing ; after that time the pulp is 
removed and the flesh to which it has been applied is stained 
a beautiful red. Henna is applied to the nails, the feet, and 
the hands ; upon which last they make all sorts of pat- 
terns ; I have never seen it applied to the face. The colour 
remains a month without changing, and does not disappear 
entirely in less than twelve months. It is not only an orna- 
ment with the Moors, but a religious ceremony for women 
who are about to be married. When a woman has used 
henna she takes care to show it, and to attract attention to 
her hands and feet, that she may be complimented ; women 
are coquettes all the world over ! 
The toilet of the Moorish ladies is not confined to the 
use of henna ; the lady in question had her hair dressed 3 her 
tresses, which hung on her shoulders, were smeared with a 
sort of ointment, made of butter, pounded cloves, and water ; 
and adorned with amber, coral, and bits of glass of different 
colours. I had never seen a Mooress so bedizened before. 
In the evening I went to look for the lover ; a young 
Moor accompanied me. We met him close to the camp, 
and I concluded that he was going to his intended ; but he 
told me, on the contrary, that he did not chuse to pass by 
her tent, and that he was on the way to one of his friends. 
I expressed my surprise, and he told me that he wished to 
