he was straight as an arrow, and his free movements and elastic tread
were those of a much younger man. His head was adorned with a dark red
skull-cap, and he wore a robe covering the whole body and reaching to
the ankles, of a deep yellow or rhubarb color; but his long wide sleeves
under his robe were dark red, embroidered with yellow flowers. The other
men had no covering on their heads, and their luxuriant hair, worn to
the shoulders, was, in most cases, very dark. Their garments were also
made in a different fashion, and consisted of a kilt-like dress, which
came half-way to the knees, a pale yellow shirt fitting tight to the
skin, and over it a loose sleeveless vest. The entire legs were cased in
stockings, curious in pattern and color. The women wore garments
resembling those of the men, but the tight-fitting sleeves reached only
half-way to the elbow, the rest of the arm being bare; and the
outergarment was all in one piece, resembling a long sleeveless jacket,
reaching below the hips. The color of their dresses varied, but in most
cases different shades of blue and subdued yellow predominated. In all,
the stockings showed deeper and richer shades of color than the other
garments; and in their curiously segmented appearance, and in the
harmonious arrangement of the tints, they seemed to represent the skins
of pythons and other beautifully variegated serpents. All wore low shoes
of an orange-brown color, fitting closely so as to display the shape of
the foot.

From the moment of first seeing them I had had no doubt about the sex of
the tall old leader of the procession, his shining white beard being as
conspicuous at a distance as a shield or a banner; but looking at the
others I was at first puzzled to know whether the party was composed of
men or women, or of both, so much did they resemble each other in
height, in their smooth faces, and in the length of their hair. On a
closer inspection I noticed the difference of dress of the sexes; also