during which I am ashamed to
say that very little work was done.

If we were charmed at our first interview with these young ladies, when
they appeared under all the disadvantages incidental to a condition of
utter limpness of soaked and draggled clothing, I fear I should lay
myself open to the charge of indulging in unbridled rhapsody were I to
attempt a description of the effect produced upon our rather susceptible
hearts on the occasion of this their second visit. Not that on the
present occasion their charms were very greatly enhanced by the
adventitious aid of dress; far from it--but the present opportunity is
as good as any to describe their appearance.

Dona Inez Isolda Aurora Dolores Maria Francesca de Guzman was a little
above the average height of her countrywomen, with a somewhat slender
yet perfectly-proportioned figure. Her skin was dazzlingly fair; her
luxuriant hair, which floated unconfined in long wavy tresses down her
back, was of so deep a chestnut hue that it might easily have been
mistaken for black; and her eyes--well, they sparkled and flashed so
brilliantly that it was difficult for a stranger to determine their
precise colour. Her features were perhaps scarcely formed with
sufficient regularity to warrant her being termed strictly _beautiful_,
but she was most assuredly, at least in my eyes, bewitchingly lovely.
She possessed just sufficient colour in her cheeks and lips to give
assurance of her being in the most perfect health, and the music of her
voice and laugh was nothing short of a revelation to me. I could see
that, being an only child, she had not wholly escaped being spoiled; but
the slight touch of hauteur and imperiousness which was noticeable in
her manner was only just sufficient to add to it another piquant charm.
Like her foster-sister she was attired in white, the bodice being
fastened with a white silken lace or cord, and having no sleeves, a
couple of shoulder-straps trimmed with lace taking their place. That
was the fashion of the country, and was doubtless adopted for the sake
of coolness and comfort. Neither of the girls wore a hat or head-gear
of any description, a most graceful and picturesque substitute therefore
being a lace mantilla folded over the crown of the head with the ends
brought down over the shoulders and knotted across the bosom. A
handsome feather fan fastened to the loose silken girdle or sash about
the waist was both useful and ornamental, and gav