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PLATE VI.
A WOMAN OF ESTHONIA.
THE country, inhabited by these people, is in the government of Revel,
and not very far distant from Finland; and, indeed, they, in many
respects, are similar to the Finns. The men are, in general, of a
melancholy disposition, arising probably from the oppression under
vs'hich they live, their poverty, and the hardships they suffer under a
cold and severe climate. The women feel this oppression much less
than the men, and are deficient neither in beauty nor vanity.
The dress of the men is similar to the Finlanders, only they do not
wear their beards: that of the women is singidar, and rather handsome;
it is not unlike that of the Sclavonians. They wear stockings and
shoes, or slippers. Their shifts are white, with large sleeves, that reach
to their wrists; over this they wear a species of corset, which has a
singular appearance, from their mode of ornamenting it; it reaches
only to the top of the petticoat. Their aprons are long, and have a
border about six inches wide ; their petticoat has, also, a wider border
all round it. This border is made of a different colom-ed stuff, and is
differently ornamented. The bonnets of the married and unmarried
women vao^; those of the former, as in the present Plate, are small,
and fit close to the head; are painted with flowers, and are trimmed
with silver or gold. They have a bow, or cockade, behind, from which
a number of different coloured ribands fall down on the shoulders
They also wear several rows of glass beads round their necks, and
ear-rmgs of the same materials.
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