Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-02-06
THE LADIES OF PERU.
Some of Their P,culiar'tieS as nescrlh.
edby a san Francisco Iady-A Peep at
Their Daily Life.

Their DAILY Late.
A San Francisco lady, writing nom
Lima, Peru, 10 the Argoao,,;, says:
Lima is called the paradise OF women.
They are called beautiful; So they are,
ii YOU admne their black eyes and
ebony dresses.--uot the dreamy black
eyes OF the harems. nor the sparkling
black eyes otthe Syrians, nor the hQuiu
black eyes OF the Egyptians, hut the
black eyes that easily reveal tho diff.
ferent types of character. Peruvian
ladies have character and not afraid to
show 1t, yet we hear nothing of equal
rights among them, For them to lay
claim to right is but To possess il for
they can easily win over the priesthood,
and thus have the most powerful GLASS
IN Peru on their side. They are generally
occupied, but do not work. they look
upon labor rs degrading. They rise
early, take acup of tea, aud ~ 70 mass.
! Their toilet requires but n few mo-
ments, Their walking suits are neat
and pretty; they surpaSs Us. Tao dress
| Is black, and touches the ground; there
is NO iumbling with trains. \ white
skrt sometimes seen little below the
dress with deep hem and two tucks,
and always white and clean. PrunclM
CATERS are generally worn; the hauds
are bare; the MGati is thrown over the
head falling gracefully down almost "a
the bottom % the skirt. The maaia
not being worn with us, needs some
descriptions,
by way ofillustratiou, Jet 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 yard from ono oore
ner, remove half u yard of fringe, and
put in its place u piece Of black lace
about two inches deep; we now have n
mdntI. 1t is the md,td that gives the
charm To the Spanish ladies' in the eyes
OF the foreign men; they always praise
It they always speak OF the moatd
whenever they mention the beauty of
the women. II has undoubtedly this
advantage; 1t may conceal mcny dc.
feets OF y face that is not handsome,
and ii sets Oh to advantage the charms
of y beautiful face. To, drape ones
self gracefully In mnntd IL an art that
must he studied. IL is first thrown over
the head; the lace is brought down on
the forehead, sometimes dropping over
the eyes. Ii is fastened 50 M 10 draw
around the neck;S tho long
end is carried over tho left shoulder,
and pinned 80 as to fall down in il fold
ON the left side. Tho lett hand is con.
oeaed, but the right holds either q
prayer-hook and rosary or " parasol. A
lady never goes out alone; two or three
20 together, and u black woman-sorvant
walks behind. Young girls ARE care.
escorted by their friends wherever they
90 and are never permitted To SEQ per.
sons OF the opposite sex alone. The
matches are made by the older people,
and so eilechislly is this done that the
the ladies' all marry, and mono are d.
vorced.
The subject of dress claims tho most
of their time and attention; their bah
dresses andopera and soiree suits aro
magnificent. Their boots, especially,
are beautiful. No people have natural.
" NJ small feet ~ tho Ppruvians. The
Peruvian-made boots arc too small for
foreigners. They explain tho fact OF
their feet being so small ina very in,
definite way; 1--WE descend from the
lncas, and they had small foet.,"What
was the cause OF the lncas' feet being
40 small?' '1,ccanse they descendod
from the Chinese" Were not your
ancestors spanishY' eyes, they were
Spanish" md again the question Of
the small feet reverIs to the Incas and
aboriglnies of Peru. s
Peruvian ladies' are not very intelli-
gent M soon as they pass beyond tho
schoolgirl period they care little for
books or literature. Many learn to
play the piano when young, but do not
caro- 10 continue when married. They
are excessively courteous in their man.
ners, but we are not To be misled by
appearances. Their mode ofsalutation
IL more of an embrace than anything
else, and they always say: my house
and all that 1 have is entirely at your
disposal, and we are to be M one fam
ily.' They arealways wealthy in mag.
national least they never speak OF
poverty. Th2y love tosmoke. Although
the streets Of Lama 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
Francisco. Go into the densest crowd
in the market or in the plaza, and still
the same IL true. Conversation among
the ladies generally turns upon domes.
tic atfail-; instead Of asking n foreigner
about her own county and other coun.
tries that SHE has visited, they ask her
what her name is now (althongh they
have been properly introduced), what
her name was before her marriage, how
old she is, how long she has been mar
ried, If she has any children, the name
and ages ~ each, how long she has beer
speaking Spanish, what she thinks Of
Lima, etc.
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Mr.. Beecher ON Church Collections.