CYPRUS* 207 
Venus, officiated at the Paphian .shrine.* Indefinite as our 
notions of beauty are said to be, we seldom differ in assigning 
the place of its abode. That assemblage of graces, which, in 
former ages, gave celebrity to the women of Circassia, still 
characterizes their descendants upon Mount Caucasus; and 
with the same precision that enables us to circumscribe the 
limits of its residence, we may refer to countries where it ne¬ 
ver was indigenous. Foremost in the list of these, may be men¬ 
tioned Egypt. The statues of Isis, and the mummies, exhibit, 
at this hour, the countenance common to the females of the 
country ; nor did the celebrated Cleopatra much differ from 
the representation thus afforded, if the portrait given of her 
upon Mark Antony’s medals may be considered as authority. 
There are some countries (for example, Lapland) where it 
might be deemed impossible to select a single instance of fe¬ 
male beauty, ttere^ it Is true, the degraded stale of human 
nature explains the privation. But among more elightened na¬ 
tions, a traveller would hardly be accused of generalizing inac¬ 
curately, or partially, who should state that female beauty was 
rare in Germany, although common in England; that it ex¬ 
ists more frequently in Russia than in France; in Finland, 
than in Sweden ; in Italy, than in Greece ; that the Irish women 
are handsomer than the Spanish ; although learned antiquaries 
would assure us, that both were originally of Pelasgian origin. 
The gardens of Larneca are very beautiful, and constitute 
the only source of delight the women of the place seem to pos¬ 
sess. They are, however, no ornament to the town, being in¬ 
closed by high walls. Almost every house has its garden ; the 
shade and verdure thus afforded is a delightful contrast to the 
glare of a white and dusty soil, every where observed around.— 
In these gardens we noticed two sorts of jasmine, one common 
in European countries, and the other derived from Syria ; the 
double blossomed pomegranate, a most beautiful shrub; also 
lemons, oranges, plums, and apricots. The phaseolus caracal- 
la , kept in the greenhouses of the seraglio gardens at Consta n¬ 
tinople, flourished here in the'.open--air. They had also the 
arbutus andrachne , growing to an enormous size. 
We left Larnexa in the evening, and found a very good road 
toNicotia; travelling principally over plains, by a gradual and 
almost imperceptible ascent, toward the northwest. Mountains 
appeared in the distant scenery, on almost every side. The 
&•“-—ubi templum illi, centumque Sabaeo, 
Tkure calent arae, sertisque recentibus h&lant j 
