Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-09-07
. Lore.aInlklnr m PortuenI.

1IutOuCuCt 1TdNclo III
Portugal" gives a somewhat striking
picture OF the habits of the middle-clsss
Portuguese and their method of love-
making:
There is nothing that would strike
traveller fresh from England, Germany
or France, more than the great rarity
of real country-houses in Portugal.
1t, is entirely against the genius of the
people to live a country life. The Por-
tuguese is too sociable to endure to be
surrounded only by woods and fields and
mountains. He has many of our North
ern tastes; he likes feld-sports in mode
ration; he rides, in his own style, better
than any nation in Europe, except our.
selves; he has q sincere delight in
country life and country scenery, but he
cannot long support the utter solitude of
the country. A Portuguese nobleman,
if he be rich enough, lives in Lisbon or
0porto, and if he. has country-house
will visit 1t for month or two in the
autumn; even then be will often rather
endure the misery of seaside lodging
among crowd than 90 inland. The
larger of the country towns have streets
full of gentlemen'sA houses; and here
vegetate,, from year to year, families
who are Just rich enough to live upon
their incomes without working. To live,
indeed, as the Portuguese do in such
towns, need cost but little. A large
house with a plot of cabbages "a kale.
yard) behind it; with whitewashed walls,
floors unexpected, dozen wooden chairs,
one or two desl.tables no fireplace, not
even stove, either in sitting-room or
bed-room no curtains to the windows, no
covers to the tables; no pictures on the
walls, no mirrors; no table pleasantly
strewed with books, magazines, newspa.
pers, and ladies' work; no such thing
visible as o pot of cut flowers; no rare
china, no clocks, no bronzes-none of the
hundred trAes and curiosites with which,
in our houses, we show our TASTE or our
want of it, but which either way give
such an individual character and charm
to our English homes. All these mega
tiVes describe the utterly dreary habita-
tions of the middls-class Portuguese.
For occupations the women do
needlewOrk, gossip, so to mass daily and
look. ont of the window by the hour,
Except the one short walk to church at
eight o'clock in the morning, q Portu-
guese lady hardly ever appears in the
streets. AS for the men, they lounge
about among the shops, they smoke in
Vulnerable paper cigarettes, they take a
siesta in the heat Of the day, If there
is sunshine, they stand in groups at the
street corners with umbrellas over their
heads; in winter they wear shawl over
their shoulders, folded and put on three
eornerwise, as French or English
woman's shawl is worn; for this is a
fashion in Portugal, and the Spaniards
laugh good deal at their neighbors on
the score Of their being a nation who in.
vert the due order of things, aud whose
women wear cloaks and men shawls. In
these towns there is never any news, and
if two men are seen in eager discussion
of some matter of apparently immense
Importance, and if one happens to pass
near enough to overhear the subject of
conversation, be sure that one of them
is plunged in despair or kindling with
enthusiasm at a tall or rise of half
penny in the price of a pound of to-
bscco An American gentleman of my
acquaintance told me that be had never
passed two Portuguese in conversation
without hearing one of tive words spoken,
testso or rapariga-6nsnce or love.
There are not even fashions for them
to think about; young men and old men
dress alike, but the younger ones wear
exceeding tight boots, and when they
take their walks abroad it is obvious
that they do so in considerable discom-
fort. The young men, however, have
one occupation more important even
than wearing tight boots, and which |
almost, in fact, goes with it-that of
making the very mildest form Of love
known among men. The process, in
deed, is carried on in so Platonic man.
ner, and with so much proper feeling,
that doubt if even the striotest English |
governmess would find anything in It to |
object to. The young gentlemen pay
their addresses BY simply standing in |
front Of the house occupied by the OBJ
ject of their affections, while the young |
person in question looks down ap-
provinsly from an upper window, and |
there the matter ends They are not
within speaking distance, and have TO
content themselves with expressive
glances and dumb show; for it would be
thought highly unbeooming for the
young lady to allow a billet'doux to
hutter down into the street, while the
laws Of gravitation stand in the way Of
the upper flight Of such document
unweighed, at least, With q stone, and
this, Of course, might risk giving the
young lady black eye, or breaking her
fathers window panes.p So the lovers
there remain, often for hours, feeling. no
doubt, very happy, bnt looking unutter-
ably foolish. These silent eourtships
sometimes continue for very, long peri
ods before the lover can ask the fatal
question, or the lady return the fnal an.
SweA Iheard the story Of one such pro. !