Henna

“ For his sake she is content to allow the busy tirewomen to exhaust their efforts in enhancing the brilliancy of her beauty: they stain her delicate fingers with henna, they draw a shaded line of kohl along the lids of her large and lustrous eyes, and they anoint her redundant tresses with the most sweet-scented unguents of Araby. ”

“ I leave thy shores--but weep the while-- GEM OF THE ORIENTAL SEAS!
D.L.R.
HENNA.
The henna or al hinna (Lawsonia inermis) is found in great abundance in Egypt, India, Persia and Arabia. In Bengal it goes by the name of Mindee. It is much used here for garden hedges. Hindu females rub it on the palms of their hands, the tips of their fingers and the soles of their feet to give them a red dye. The same red dye has been observed upon the nails of Egyptian mummies. In Egypt sprigs of henna are hawked about the streets for sale with the cry of "O, odours of Paradise; O, flowers of the henna!" ”

“ Henna is a yellow powder obtained from a plant called Lawsonia inermis, which, by being dissolved in water, furnishes a red dye of brick-colour. With this henna they dye their fine black beards and their very eyes red, the colour of bricks. Persons of standing also dye with henna their finger-nails and hands. The coat of paint hides the dirt; and a gentleman or lady, having made use of it, can afford to do without washing for several days. ”

“ Thereupon she hied her home; and on the morrow she made her ready and 138donning the finest of dress, adorned herself with the costliest of ornaments and the highest of price and stained her hands with Henna. Then she let down her tresses upon her shoulders and went forth, walking with coquettish gait and amorous grace, followed by her slave-girl carrying a parcel, till she came to the young merchant’s shop and sitting down under pretext of seeking stuffs, saluted him with the salam and demanded of him somewhat of cloths. ”

“ The henna often extends to her fingers as well, to the palms of her hands, and to her hair. If she happen to be advancing in years, the effect is sometimes very strange to a Western eye. There is no attempt to simulate a youthful glow. The dye is plentifully applied to make a rich coral red. In other points of fashion Mistress Hyacinth is more independent than her sisters of the West. What the ladies of Paris wear must be worn by the ladies of Melbourne, New York, or St. Petersburg. But no such spirit of imitation prevails in Thrace, where every village seems to have modes of its own. ”

“ They were dignified, thoughtful persons with dreamy eyes and intensely black beards, and two or three old men had made themselves supremely ridiculous by the use of henna, which gives hair a bright scarlet hue. ”

“ Hennage laughed boldly, as he realized on what a slender foundation his gigantic bluff was resting, and what an impression his words had made upon Carey. The latter pulled himself together and favored the gambler with a wintry grin.
“Kinder game little pup, after all” thought Mr. Hennage. “He thinks he's licked, but he's goin' to bluff it out to the finish. I believe if this feller was on the level I'd like him. He's no slouch at whatever he tackles, you bet.” ”

“ Mittie is grown so beautiful no one could think of any one else when she is near.”
“The young man with the long black hair thinks her beautiful? Does he not?”
“I believe so. Who could help it?”
“Does she love you better than she used to?” asked Miss Thusa.
“I will try to deserve her love,” replied Helen, evasively; “but, Miss Thusa, I am coming every day to take spinning lessons of you. I really want to learn to spin. Perhaps father may fail one of these days, and I be thrown on my own resources, and then I could earn my living as you do now. Will you bequeath me your wheel, Miss Thusa?” ”

“ What inexpressible sadness, yet what sublime tranquillity! Helen held her breath, bending slowly, lower and lower, as if drawn down by a mighty, irresistible power, till her cheek almost touched the clay-cold cheek over which she leaned. Then Miss Thusa folded back the sheet still farther, and exposed the shrouded form, which she had so carefully prepared for its last dread espousals. The fragrance of white roses and geranium leaves profusely scattered over the body, mingled with the cold odor of mortality, and filled the room with a deadly, sickening perfume. ”

“ One day as Helen tripped up and down the velvet sward by her side, admiring the silky white skeins spread multitudinously there, Miss Thusa, gave an oracular nod, and said she believed that was the last watering, that all they needed was one more night’s dew, one more morning sun, and then they could be twisted in little hanks ready to be dispatched in various directions.
“I am proud of that thread,” said Miss Thusa, casting back a lingering look of affection and pride as she closed the gate. “It is the best I ever spun—I don’t believe there is a rough place in it from beginning to end. ”

“ The excitement of his feelings gave an exalted tone to his voice and words, and as the benediction stole solemnly into her heart, Helen felt as if the plumage of the white dove was folded in downy softness there. In the meantime Mittie had quitted the room, and Mrs. Gleason drawing near Louis, sat down by him, and addressed him in a kind, cheering manner.
“These heavy locks must be shorn to-morrow,” said she, [179] passing her hand over his long, dark hair. “They sadden your countenance too much. A night’s sleep, too, will bring back the color to your face. You are over weary now. ”

“ It played, that flame-light, with rich, warm lustre on Helen’s soft, brown hair and roseate cheek, quivered with purplish radiance among Arthur’s darker locks—and lighted up with a sunset glow, Miss Thusa’s hoary tresses.
“Gentle and beautiful!” repeated the oracle. “Yes! every thing seems beautiful to the young. If I could remember ever feeling young, I dare say beautiful memories would come back to me. ’Tis very strange, though, that the older I grow, the pleasanter are the pictures that are reflected on my mind. The way grows smoother and clearer. ”

“ Arthur laid his hand on the top rail, and vaulted over as lightly as a bird, then held out his arms towards her.
“Climb, and I will catch you,” said he, with an encouraging smile. Poor little Helen felt constrained to obey him, [40] though she turned white as snow—and when he took her in his arms, he felt her heart beating and fluttering like the wings of a caged humming-bird.
“Ah, I see the silver bucket,” he cried, “all filled with strawberries. The enemy is fled; the coast is clear.” ”

“ Was Miss Thusa forgotten? Did she sleep in her lonely grave unhonored and unmourned?
In a corner of Helen’s own room, conspicuous in the mids of the elegant, modern furniture that adorns it, there stands an ancient brass-bound wheel. The brass shines with the lustre of burnished gold, and the dark wood-work has the polish of old mahogany. Nothing in Helen’s possession is [238] so carefully preserved, so reverently guarded as that ancestral machine. ”

“ Miss Thusa shook her head, and though she almost suffocated herself in the effort to repress them, tears actually forced themselves into her eyes, and splashed on her cheeks. Seating herself in a low chair, she took up the corner of her apron to hide what she considered a shame and disgrace, when Helen glided near and wiped away the drops with her own handkerchief.
“Bless you darling,” cried the subdued spinster—“and you will be blessed. There’s no malice, nor hard-heartedness in you. You never turned your foot upon a worm. ”

“ Albinik the mariner was the first to whom Hena offered her forehead to kiss after her father and mother; she had not seen her brother for a long time. Next came the turn of Guilhern and Mikael and then the swarm of children, whom, stooping to them, Hena, sought to hold all together in one embrace. The young priestess then tenderly greeted Henory, her brother Guilhern's wife, and expressed her regret at not seeing Albinik's wife Meroë. Nor were the other relatives forgotten; all, down to Stumpy, otherwise everyone's butt, had a kind word from her. ”

“ A few weeks later the rabble of Rouen stood before an iron cage suspended from a tower. Derisive epithets and cruel insults passed from lip to lip and were greeted with indecent laughter. In a corner of the cage sat a cowering figure bound with fetters. Her face could not be seen, for her head was bowed in anguish. One of the mob thrust his lance toward her to make her look up. He was successful. She slowly raised her head, and the crowd looked upon eyes full of sorrow, eyes full of purity and beauty,—the eyes of Joan. The Duke of Luxemburg had completed his infamous bargain. ”

“ There she sat at her wheel, solemn and ancestral, and gray as ever, her foot upon the treadle, her hand upon the distaff, looking so much like a fixture of the place, it seemed strange not to see the moss growing green and damp on her stone-colored garments.
“Miss Thusa!” exclaimed Helen, and the aged spinster started at the sound of that sweet, childish voice. Helen’s arms were around her neck in a moment, and without knowing why, she burst into an unexpected fit of weeping. ”

“ She ran into them joyously and offered him her forehead, as she also did her mother. The children of the family loved Hena dearly and contested with each other the privilege of being the first to kiss her hands—sought with greed by all the little innocent mouths. Even old Deber-Trud gamboled and barked with joy at the arrival of his young mistress. ”

“ Early in the morning, while Joan, wearied by her exertions on the day before, was still sleeping, some of the captains sallied out with their troops and made a furious assault upon the fort. The English, seeing only their customary assailants, fell upon them, and after a hard struggle beat them back. At that instant the Maiden, bearing her lily banner, rode to the Burgundian gate. “Halt!” she shouted to the fugitives. “Look you, the Maiden whom God sent to you is here. Follow me to victory.” At once she plunged into the thick of battle. Her presence acted like magic on both sides. ”

“ When Helen comes, bring her to me, for I’ve something to tell her that I mustn’t carry to my grave. The blind child, too, I should like to see her again. I would give one of my eyes now, to put sight into hers—both of them, I might say, for I shan’t use them much longer.”
“Why, Miss Thusa, you are a powerful woman yet,” said Louis, measuring her erect and commanding figure, with an upward glance. “I shouldn’t wonder if you lived to preside at all our funerals. I don’t think you ever can grow weak and infirm.” ”

“ In ten minutes Yenna Curtis galloped to the tree on her sorrel pony Dancer. The two leaned and clasped hands heartily.
"I ought to have ridden nearer your home," said Ranse. "But you never will let me."
Yenna laughed. And in the soft light you could see her strong white teeth and fearless eyes. No sentimentality there, in spite of the moonlight, the odor of the ratamas, and the admirable figure of Ranse Truesdell, the lover. But she was there, eight miles from her home, to meet him.
"How often have I told you, Ranse," she said, "that I am your half-way girl? Always half-way." ”

“ The pleasure of gratified vanity would be faint to the stings exasperated and wounded love could inflict.”
“For all the universe could offer I would not be my sister’s rival,” cried Helen, rising impetuously, and looking round her with a wild startled expression. “I will go and tell her so at once. I will ask her to confide in me and trust me. I will go away if she wishes it. If my father is willing, I will live with Miss Thusa in the wild woods.”
“Wait awhile,” said Arthur, smiling at her vehemence, “wait Helen, patiently, firmly. When temptations arise, it is time to resist. ”

“ Mittie that annoyed and pained her. The gleam of kindness with which she had greeted her had all gone out, and left dullness and darkness in its stead. She could not get near her heart. At every avenue it seemed closed against her, and resisted the golden key of affection as effectually as the wrench of violence.
“She must love me,” thought Helen, pursuing her way towards Miss Thusa’s, and picking up here and there a yellow leaf that came fluttering down at her feet. “I cannot live in coldness and estrangement with one I ought to love so dearly. ”

“ Will you not yourself, noble sir, although you do not believe in her divine commission, gladly draw your sword when the lily banner waves before you? If the spirit which Joan has roused in our little band is animating all France, how can we do otherwise than expect success?”
“You are right, my young friend,” said La Hire, extending his hand. “I thank your gallant father in his grave for the training he gave you. Yes, yes, it must be so,—when religious or political enthusiasms fire a people, great results always follow. In this case it is a joint enthusiasm. ”

“ When the last beam of the sinking sun glanced upon her distaff, turning the fibres to golden filaments, Miss Thusa paused, and the crank gave a sudden, upward jerk, as if rejoiced at the coming rest. Putting her wheel carefully in its accustomed corner, she descended the stairs, and bent her steps to the bleaching ground. She met Helen at the gate, who remembered the trysting hour.
“Bless the child,” cried Miss Thusa, with a benevolent relaxation of her harsh features, “she never forgets any thing that’s to do for another. Never mind getting the watering-pot now. ”

“ His brow grew dark, and Miss Thusa’s darker still.
“To lock up a poor, little motherless thing, such a night as this!” muttered she, putting her spectacles, the thermometer of her anger, on the top of her head. “To leave her there to perish. Why, the wild beasts themselves would be ashamed of such behaviour, let alone a man.”
“Don’t, Miss Thusa,” whispered Helen, “he is sorry as he can be. I was bad, too, for I didn’t mind him.”
“I do not wonder at your displeasure, sir,” said the master, turning to Mr. Gleason, with dignity; “I deserve to feel it, for my unpardonable forgetfulness. ”