A Temporary Loss Of Temper Was A Natural Consequence, And Having Ridden
In Advance For About Half A Mile, I Returned And Ordered A Retreat.
We
took the bullocks out, and by hand backed the wheels, until by shovels
and picks we could clear a space for turning.
We then re-crossed the
river, and disregarding all native advice, struck into the country, and
halted near a small grove of olives close to the new English road to the
military station "Mattiati."
It was the 4th of February, and the temperature in the morning and
evening was too cold (43 degrees) for pleasant camping. In spite of a
chilly wind, crowds of women and children surrounded our vans and sat
for hours indulging their curiosity, and shivering in light clothes of
home-made cotton-stuffs. The children were generally pretty, and some of
the younger women were good-looking; but there was a total neglect of
personal appearance which is a striking characteristic of the Cypriote
females. In most countries, whether savage or civilised, the women yield
to a natural instinct, and to a certain extent adorn their persons and
endeavour to render themselves attractive; but in Cyprus there is a
distressing absence of the wholesome vanity that should induce attention
to dress and cleanliness. The inelegance of costume gives an unpleasant
peculiarity to their figures--the whole crowd of girls and women looked
as though they were about to become mothers. The coarse and
roughly-tanned, uncared-for high boots with huge hobnails were
overlapped by great baggy trousers. Above these were a considerable
number of petticoats loosely hanging and tied carelessly at the waist,
which was totally unsupported by any such assistance as stays. A sort of
short jacket that was of no particular cut, and possessed the advantage
of fitting any variety of size or figure, completed the attire. The
buttons that should have confined the dress in front were generally
absent, and the ladies were not bashful at their loss, but exposed their
bosoms without any consciousness of indelicacy. There was no peculiarity
in the arrangement of the hair, but each head was tied up in a cloth,
either white or some gaudy colour, which, once gay, had been sobered in
its hues by dirt. In spite of this neglected exterior, the women had
remarkably good manners; they seldom approached my wife without
presenting, with a graceful gesture, some wild flowers, or a little
bunch of sweet herbs, which they had purposely gathered, and we were
quickly made rich in quantities of double narcissus, marigolds, and
rosemary. Upon our arrival at a town or village the girls and boys would
frequently run to their gardens and provide themselves with either a
single flower, or rosemary, with which they would await us in the street
and offer them as we passed by. Throughout Cyprus we have received
similar well-meant attention, and the simplicity and delicacy of the
offering contrasts in an anomalous manner with the dirty habits and
appearance of the people.
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