The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1850-12-07
The Women Of Mexico.

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The badness Of servants b an unfa,lipz ssuses
OF complaint even amongst Mexicans: much more
SO amongst foreigners, especially on their first ar
rival In the first place, servants are constantly
being taken without being required to bring
recommendation from their last place and In the
next, recommendations are constantly given,
whether from Incidence " mistaken kindness, to
servants who do not deserve them A servant
who has lived in a dozen different houses staying
month in each, is not thought the worse Of O
that account As the love Of inery is sdhersnt
in them all, even more so than IN any other daush-
tiers OF Eve, girl will do service merely to earn
sufficient to buy herself an embroidered chemise.
aud in addition to this if size can pick up pair
OF small old satin shoes, she will tell you she il
tired Of working, and going home to rest, para
descansor. So little il necessary, wher one caa
contentedly live on tsrtidas and chile, sleep On .
mat and dress in rags -
A decent looking old woman who came to the
house to work, shortly after our arrival in this
country, left us at the end Of month para dec
cdnsar.' Soon after she used to come with her
SIX children, they and herself all in rags and beg
the gardener to give her any odds aud ends Of We
getables he could spare My maid asked her
why, being so poor, she had lcf. good place,
where she got twelve dollars month. sAhiSf
said she IF you only knew the pleasure Of doing
nothing" -
wished to bring up little girl as servant,
having taught her to read, sew, etc-A child
twelve years old, one of large family, who sub
ss'ed upon charity, was procured for me and
promised her mother that she should be taught
to read, taken regularly to church, and instructed
in all kinds Of work. She was rather pretty, and
very intelligent, though extremely indoent; and
thOuph she had
wear nothing but dirty white satin shoes TO short
for her feet Once y week, her mother a tall,
slatternly woman, with long, tangled hair, and
cigar in her mouth, used to come to visit her, nc
companled by a friend, friends friend, and q
train of girls, her daughters The housekeepsr
would give them some dinner, after which tliey
all lighted their cigars and together with the liz
tie Juatia, sit down and howl and benoan them
selves, crying and bemoaning her sad fate in BE-
ing obliged TO go out to service. Alter these Wis
s, Juaiita was fit for nothing If desired to sew,
she would sit looking SO miserable, and doing 90
little, that it seemed better to allow her to leave.
her work alone. Then, tolerably contented, she
would sit on mat doing nothing her hands fold.
ed and her eyes fixed on vacancy. ,
One day having given Julia permission to spend
the night at her mothers, received next NOR
ning dirty note, nearly illegbe, which, after cal
ling down the protection of the Virgin upon me,
concluded-"but with much sorrow must take
my child from the most illustrieus protection Of
your Excelleney, for she needs to rest herself and
is tired for the present of working" The woman
then returned to beg, which she considered inf.
nltely less degrading.
You ask me how Mexican women are e,'L.1,ed,
In answering you. must put aside few nril
liant exceptions, ana speak en- mdsse the most diff
iicuIt thing IN the world for these exceptions
are always arising up before me like accusing
angels and begin to think Of individuals, when
should keep to generalities Generally speak
ing, then, the Mexican senoras and senortas write
read and play little, sew, and take care Of their
houses and children. When said they read,
mean they know how to read when say they
write, do not mean they can always spell snnd
when | say they play, do not assert that they
have generally knowledge of music II wa
compare their education with that Of girls in the
United States,--lt is not n comparison but con.
trast Compare it with that Of Spanish women,
and We shall be less severe upon their fainienss
descendants. In the first place. the climate in.
cIlnes every one to incidence, both physically and
morally.--One cannot pore over book when the
blue sky is constantly smiling in Mt the open win.
dow; then ont of doors, after ten o'clock, the sun
gives us due warning oi-our tropical latitude. an
even though the breeze is so fresh and pleasant,
one has no inclination to ride or walk far What.
ever be the cause am convinced it is impossiuis
to take the same -xersise with the mind or with
the mind or with the body in this country, ne in
Europe or in the Northern States. Then rs to
schools, there are none that can descrv3 the name
and no governesses. Young girls can have no
emulation. for they never meet. They have no
public diversion and no private amusement.
There are few good foreign masters most Of
whom have come TO Mexico for the purpose Of
making their fortune by teaching or marriage, or
both and whose object naturally, is to make the
most money in the shortest possible time that
they may return home and enjoy it The chill
dren generally appear to have an extraordinary
disposition for music and dancing, vet there are
few girls who are profeients in either. ... M,
When very young they occasionally attend the
schools, where boys and girls learn to read in
common, or any other accomplishments that the
old women can teach them; but at twelve they
are already construed too old to attend to these
promscuous assemblages, and masters are got in
Tor drawing and music to finish their education.
asked lady the other day, her daughter went
to school. Good heavens T. said She quite shock
Ell, she IL past eleven years oldp 1t frequently
happens that the least well informed girls are the
children of the cleverst men, who, keeping to the
customs Of their foreflthcrs, are content il they
confess regularly, attend church constantly, and
can cnbroder and sing little Where there are
more extended ideas, it is chiefly amongst fam.
lilies who have travelled in Europe and have seen
the different education of women in foreign coun.
tries. or these the fathers occasionally devote a
short portion of their time to the instruction of
their daughters perhaps during their leisure eve.
ming moments but it may easily be supposed that
this desultory system has little real'inhuence on
he MN Ia oG ths chilfrau T ID tk.-s