The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1847-07-24

selves IN the eXcc3Nve sasseAAAeS ~ 49,
Whether walking. standing, sitting, swinging
in the hammock, or reclining on the sofa, the
grand object invariably is to display to adj
vantage the tiny foot. To praise her virtue,
her intelligence, her wit, or even her beauty
would be less complimentary to a Limena
than TO admire the elegance oil her feet
ALI possible care is taken 10 preserve the
small form Of the foot, and the Lima ladies
avoid everything that may tend to spread OF
enlarge it. Their shoes are usually made
of embroidered velvet or satin, or OF very flne
kid, and are so exceedingly small, that they
cannot be drawn on and of without diff
Guilty. Ii is usual to have two new pairs
every week, and the expense OF lady $
shoes not unfrequently amounts to two hun
bred dollars per annum. A large foot is
thing held in horror by the Limenas : they
call it una pataza ingiesa IAN English
paw once heard some Lima ladies ex-
iolling in high terms the beauty Of far
European; but all their praises ended with
the words -" Pero que pie, val game Dos
parece una lancha." (But what foot,
good Heaven! 1t is like great boat-)
Yet the feet Of the lady alluded to would
not, in Europe, have been thought by any
means large.
Gourmanderie is one Of the evil habits
of the female inhabitants Of Lima. Be
tween meals they are continually eating
sweetmeats and variety ofthings. AT one
moment they order tdmal," next omitds,
then pan de chancay Ia sweet sort Of bread
and biscuits, then masamOrita mOrada, or
fryoles colddas, 5 &c; and yet dinner is
partaken with as hearty an appetite as though
none of these interludes had been introduced
Can it be matter Of surprise that the good
ladies are constantly complaining Of indi-
gestion and NAL de estomagos
In the interior Of the houses cleanliness
does not extend beyond those apartments
which are open TO visitors, namely, the said
and the c,ladro. The other rooms Of the
house frequently bear more resemblance to
stable than human habilation, and their
condition reflects little credit on the domes-
tic habits Of the female inmates. But even
this is typical Of the national characteI,-a
great outward show and little inward worth.
AT first a stranger is struck with the sin
gularity of the names Of many Of the women
of Lima. A child receives the name of the
saint OF OF the festival whose celebration falls
on the day of its birth. Those who happen
to come into the world on the days On which
the Romish Church celebrates the several
manifestations Of the Virgin receive the most
extraordinary names For example, child
born on the anniversary day Of the man,
festation to ST. Francis on the Snow Noun
tain, is named Nierss (snow.) Pillar
Qountain-basin) is another strange name,
conferred in honor Of the manifestation OF the
Virgin al the Fountains in Saragossa.-
Then there are Conceptions, Naticidads,
and Asuncions without number. A girl
bonn OH CandIemas day is named Candida
ria, and one born on the first day of the
year receives the name Of Jesus. The sin
gular effect of these names is heightened by
the Spanish custom of using diminutives,
fomed by adding TO the name the particle
ito or ita, the former being the masculine,
the latter the feminine. Ii may be readily
Imagined that foreigner is no, little star
tied on hearing young lady called bona
Jesusita. In some names the diminutive
takes form totally different from the full
name; as, for example, Panchita for Fran
cisca, Pepita for Josefa, Gonchita for Con
cepcion. A married woman does not take
the family name Of her husband, but retains
her own, adding to it her husbands name
preceded by the particle de, as, for exam
pie, Dona Maria Juana Rodriguez de Sal
aZar.
| LIVING IN LIMA.
Eating and drinking keep soul and
body together So says the German pro-
verb; and il may not be uninteresting TO
take a glance at the Limenos during their
performance of these two important oper-
atoms. The hour of breakfast is generally
nine in the morning. The meals consists
Of boiled mutton (Sancochado,) soup Cal
d. with yuccas, very pleasant-,asted root,
and Chupe This last-mentioned dish con-
sists, in its simplest form, merely of potatoes
boiled in very salt water, with cheese and
Spanish pepper. When the chupe is made
in better style, eggs, crabs, and fried fish are
added to the ingredients already named and
i, is then a very savory dish Chocolate
and milk are afterwards served. A negress
brings the Chocolatera into the breakfast
room, and pour on, cup full for each per-
son. The natives prefer the froth to the ac-
tual beverage; and many Of the negresses
are such adopts in the art of pouring out.
that they will make the cup so overflow with
foam, that it contains scarcely a spoonful
Of liquid. Chocolate is the favorite beverage
of the Peruvians. In the Southern parts OF
the country it is customary to offer il to visi-
tors at all hours Of the day. The visitor
is no sooner seated than he is presented with
a cup of coffee, which is often so thick that
the spoon will stand upright init 1t would
be breach of politeness to decline this re-
freshment, and whether agreeable or not it
must be swallowed!
| The best cocoa is obtained from the Mon
tanas Of Urubamba, and from the Bolivian
Yungas. The long land transport, how
ever, renders it very dear, and therefore the
nuts brought from Guayaquil are those com.
monty used in Lima.
Dinner, which takes place about two OF
three in the afternoon, commences with a
very insipid kind of soup. Thisis followed
by the Pnchero, which is the principal dish
Puchero, made in its best style, contains
beef, pork, bacon, ham, sausage, poultry
cabbage, yuccas, camotes "a sort Of sweet
\ :.