Fair would I be to thee as the garden in which I
Have planted flowers and sweet-smelling shrubs!
The garden watered by pleasant rivulets, and
Refreshed by the north breeze!
Here let us walk, oh, my beloved, hand in hand, our
Hearts filled with joy. Better than food, better
Than drink, is it to behold thee.
To behold thee, and to behold thee again!”
This shows clearly the freedom of intercourse permitted, and with what naivete and frankness it is written! No effort at dissimulation in acknowledging the artificial enhancement of her charms. Rather perhaps did she feel herself worthy of commendation for the pains she had taken. It reminds one of the Southern girl who remarked casually to a party of friends, of both sexes: “How chilly it is this morning! Oh, now I know why; I forgot to pencil my eyebrows!”
In their feasts and amusements men and women met together and scenes in the tombs of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties show ladies discussing their earrings and jewelry, as they might be doing to-day. To perform toilettes together, put on necklets and exchange flowers was part of the entertainment, and talking, eating and dressing all went on to the sound of music. Birthdays and many other festivals, religious and social, were celebrated, and there were lucky and unlucky days for music, as well as for many other things. It was especially to be avoided on the fourteenth Tybi. Pollard mentions “a musical at-home” among the pictures on the walls of the tombs at Beni-Hassan, where two harpists, a sistrum player and others are helping to entertain the visitors.