These people were, in general,
good-looking; frequently I observed a very handsome face, and
occasionally a countenance, male or female, of really heroic beauty.
Though crowds wandered through the streets, there sounded no tumult;
voices never rose above an ordinary pitch of conversation; the
general bearing was dignified, and tended to gravity. One woman in
particular held my attention, not because of any exceptional beauty,
for, indeed, she had a hard, stern face, but owing to her demeanour.
Unlike most of the peasant folk, she was bent on business; carrying
upon her head a heavy pile of some ornamented fabric--shawls or
something of the kind--she entered shops, and paused at house
doors, in the endeavour to find purchasers. I watched her for a long
time, hoping she might make a sale, but ever she was unsuccessful;
for all that she bore herself with a dignity not easily surpassed.
Each offer of her wares was made as if she conferred a graceful
favour, and after each rejection she withdrew unabashed, outwardly
unperturbed, seeming to take stately leave.
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