His aspect is like Lebanon, excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely."
"The maiden whose loveliness inspires the most impassioned
expressions in Arabic poetry," Lane states, "is celebrated for
her slender figure: She is like the cane among plants, and is
elegant as a twig of the oriental willow. Her face is like the
full moon, presenting the strongest contrast to the color of her
hair, which is of the deepest hue of night, and falls to the
middle of her back (Arab ladies are extremely fond of full and
long hair). A rosy blush overspreads the center of each cheek;
and a mole is considered an additional charm. The Arabs, indeed,
are particularly extravagant in their admiration of this natural
beauty spot, which, according to its place, is compared to a drop
of ambergris upon a dish of alabaster or upon the surface of a
ruby. The eyes of the Arab beauty are intensely black,[132]
large, and long, of the form of an almond: they are full of
brilliancy; but this is softened by long silken lashes, giving a
tender and languid expression that is full of enchantment and
scarcely to be improved by the adventitious aid of the black
border of kohl; for this the lovely maiden adds rather for the
sake of fashion than necessity, having what the Arabs term
natural kohl.
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