The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1880-02-12
THE LADIES OF PERU.

THE LADIES OF PERU.
ed by San Francisco Lady-A Peepat
Their Daily Life.
A San Francisc lady, writing from
Lima, Peru, to the Aryonaut, says:
"Lima is called the paradise of women.
They are called beautiful; so they are,
if you admire their black eyes and
ebony dresses mot the dreamy black
eyes of the harems, nor the sparkling
black eyes ofthe Syrians, nor the liquid
black eyes Of the Egyptians, but the
black eyes that easily reveal the diff
ferent types of character. Peruvian
ladies have character, and not afraid to
show it; yet we hear nothing of equal
rights among them. For them to lay
claim to right is but to possess it, for
they can easily win over the priesthood,
and thus have the most powerful class
in Peru on their side. They are generally
occupied, but do not work: they look
upon labor as degrading. They rise
early, take cup Of tea, and go to mass.
Their toilet requires but few mo-
ments. Their walking suits are neat
and pretty; they surpass us. The dress
is black, and touches the ground; there
is no fumbling with trains. "a white
skirt sometimes seen little below the
dress with deep hem and two tucks,
and always white and clean. Ptunella
CATERS are generally worn; the hands
are bare; the na0nta is thrown over the
head falling gracefully down almost to
the bottom of the skirt. The nsa,,ta,
not being worn with us, needs some
description. -
By way of illustration, let us take one
OF the large silk shawls, with deep
fringes, that were worn in the States
several years ago; dye it black; then on
one side, about a. yard from one cor
ner, remove half q yard of fringe, and
put In its place piece of black lace
about two inches deep; we now have q
nsanta.a It is the nsa,ata that gives the
charm to the Spanish ladies in the eyes
OF the foreign men; they always praise
1t; they always speak of the mania
whenever they mention the beauty of
the women. It has undoubtedly this
advantage: it may conceal many de-
fects of face that is not handsome,
and it sets off to advantage the charms
of beautiful face. To drape ones
self gracefully in a mania is an art that
must be studied. It is first thrown over
the head; the lace is brought down on
the forehead, sometimes dropping over
the eyes. It is fastened so as to draw
around the neck; the long
end is carried over the left shoulder,
and pinned so as to fall down in fold
on the left side. The left hand is con-
cealed, but the right holds either q
prayer-book and rosary or parasol. A
lady never goes out alone; two or three
20 together, and black woman-servant
walks behind. Young girls are care
escorted by their friends wherever thew
60 and are never permitted to see per-
sons OF the opposite sex alone. The
matches are made by the older people,
and SO efectually is this done that the
the ladies all marry, and none are d.
vorced. -,
The subject of dress claims the most
OF their time and attention; their ball
dresses and opera and soiree suits are
magnificent. Their boots, especially,
are beautiful. No people have natural
" as small feet as the Peruvians, The
Peruvian-made boots are too small for
foreigners. They explain the fact of
their feet being so small in very in
definite way: ''We descend from the
1ncas, and they had small feet. :" "What
was the cause of the Incas' feet being
80 small?" because they descended
from the Chinese" "Were not your
ancestors SPANISH" eyes, they were
Spanish" and again the question of
the small feet reverts to the Incas and
aboriginies of Peru.
Peruvian ladies are not very intelli-
gent as::soon as they pass beyond the
schoolgirl period they care little for
books or literature. Many learn to
play the piano when young, but do not
care to continue when married. They
are excessively courteous in their man.
ners. but we are not to be misled by
appearances. Their mode ofsalutation
is more of an embrace than anything
else, and they always say: "My house
and all that I have is entirely at your
disposal, and we are to be as one fam
ily." They are always wealthy in imag.
national least they never speak of
poverty. Thsy love to smoke. Although
the streets of Lima are narrow and the
sidewalks cramped; you arejostled less
by the passing throng in three months
IN Lima than you would be in three
days in London. New York or San