ned with flowers. All were pretty, and one
was much more than pretty; not in the style of Spanish beauty, with
dark eyes and hair, but a delicate and dangerous blonde, simple,
natural, and unaffected, beautiful without knowing it, and really
because she could not help it. Her name, too, was poetry itself. I am
bound to single her out, for, late on the evening of our departure from
Merida, she sent us a large cake, measuring about three feet in
circumference by six inches deep, which, by-the-way, everything being
packed up, I smothered into a pair of saddle-bags, and spoiled some of
my scanty stock of wearing apparel.

The ceremonies of the reception over, we made immediate preparations to
begin. Much form and circumstance were necessary in settling
preliminaries; and as we were in no hurry to get rid of our subjects,
we had more formalities than usual to go through with.

Our first subject was the lady of the poetical name. It was necessary
to hold a consultation upon her costume, whether the colours were
pretty and such as would be brought out well or not; whether a scarf
around the neck was advisable; whether the hair was well arranged, the
rose becoming, and in the best position; then to change it, and
consider the effect of the change, and to say and do many other things
which may suggest themselves to the reader's imagination, and all which
gave rise to many profound remarks in regard to artistical effect, and
occupied much time.

The lady being arrayed to the best advantage, it was necessary to seat
her with reference to a right adjustment of light and shade; to examine
carefully the falling of the light upon her face; then to consult
whether it was better to take a front or a side view; to look at the
face carefully in both positions; and, finally, it was necessary to
secure the head in the right position; that it should be neither too
high nor too low; too much on one side nor on the other; and as this
required great nicety, it was sometimes actually indispensable to turn
the beautiful little head with our own hands, which, however, was a
very innocent way of turning a young lady's head.

Next it was necessary to get the young lady into focus--that is, to get
her into the box, which, in short; means, to get a reflection of her
face on the glass in the camera obscura at that one particular point of
view which presented it better than any other; and when this was
obtained, the miniatured likeness of the object