Her hair is dark—and who so ungallant as to suggest that its hue is due to artificial causes? Granted that a powder does exist called Kna; let it freely be admitted that the fair Serbs often show themselves as desirous as the ladies of the harem to acquire those raven tresses which the Koràn distinguishes as a sign of comeliness and strength. But a glance—a scintillation—from those eyes would annihilate any detractor so mean as to bring such imputations against our Bosniac beauty! Here at once, so to speak, we are on terra firma. These at least are incapable of assuming an un-genuine hue; and they are black,—black as the sloes with which the national poets delight to compare their mistresses’ orbs, and haloed round with such dark lashes and eyebrows as the same Serbian imagination fondly likens to ‘leeches from the fountain.’ But she was rather the exception in the crowd, and the evident esteem in which her good looks were held was probably more due to this accident of hue than anything else; for if at times the tresses of her artless village rivals happened on the fashionable colour, their eyes were oftener of a traitorous turquoise than of jet; and as to the little children, their hair was of a tell-tale flaxen! Nay, it is to be feared that if our damsel was on the look out for a black-eyed sweetheart to match her, she would find some difficulty in realizing her hopes, since the men’s eyes were generally of greys or watery blues, and their lanky locks took an unfortunately reddish hue of brown; and even supposing her pockets to have been as full of gold, she was likely to fall as far short of her ideal as the maiden of Serbian poetry, who sings:—
I wish the happy time were nigh,
When youths are sold, that I might buy.
But for an azure-eyed Milinar,[179]
I would not give a single dinar,
Though for a raven-black eyed youth,
A thousand golden coins in truth.
Alas! alas! and is it true?
My own fair youth has eyes of blue![180]