It is this play of the fan (manejo del abanico) in which fair dames and demoiselles have become such adepts, that it has been necessary to coin a word to express this charming art. Thus, ‘abanicar’ means the play of the fan, while ‘ojear’ signifies the language of the eyes. These two manœuvres, remarks M. Louis Énault shrewdly, are closely allied, and one alone suffices for a man’s destruction.
The fan, indeed, has its own particular language, more eloquent than that of flowers—the Spanish novia (lady-love) communicates her thoughts by code to her novio (sweetheart), as—engaged couples in Spain being never allowed alone—woman’s ready wit has devised this means of private conversation.
| Spanish Fan, silk mount spangled, the head an ivory miniature. necklace of seed pearls. c. 1800. | Mr Talbot Hughes. |
| Fête de l’Agriculture, 1798, silk mount, spangled. | Mr LCR. Messel. |
The instructions are set forth in fifty different directions in a little booklet published in German by Frau Bartholomäus, from the original Spanish of Fenella. A few examples will probably suffice as an indication of the method:—
| 1. You have won my love. | Place the shut fan near the heart. |
| 2. When may I be allowed to see you? | The shut fan resting upon the right eye. |
| 3. At what hour? | The number of the sticks of the fan indicate the hour. |
| 4. I long always to be near thee. | Touch the unfolded fan in the act of waving. |
| 5. Do not be so imprudent. | Threaten with the shut fan. |
| 6. Why do you misunderstand me? | Gaze pensively at the unfolded fan. |
| 7. You may kiss me. | Press the half-opened fan to the lips. |
| 8. Forgive me, I pray you. | Clasp the hands under the open fan. |
| 9. Do not betray our secret. | Cover the left ear with the open fan. |
| 10. I promise to marry you. | Shut the full-opened fan very slowly. |
And so on, through the whole gamut of the language of love.