84 LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
constitutes the basis is perhaps the oldest and the 
least dangerous of all. Nay, it even possesses some 
advantages : it lasts several days without rubbing 
off"; water refreshes it like the natural colours ; and 
it is not hurtful to the skin, which it is used to em- 
bellish. Still, nothing can imitate the tint of that 
native modesty which flushes the cheek of innocence, 
and which art destroys beyond repair. Would you 
wish to please for a long time, for ever, banish false- 
hood from your hearts, your lips, and your aspect, 
and be assured that truth alone is deserving of love. 
The good taste displayed by the British ladies of 
the present day in discarding the barbarous practice 
of disfiguring the face by a composition mask, or an 
unnatural stain, must be acknowledged by every one 
who can recollect the fashions of the last thirty 
years. 
