The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-02-19
FOR THE FAIR SEX.
The ladies of Peru.

A San Francisco lady, writing from
Lima, Peru. to the Argond,tt, says
Lima is called the paradise of women.
They are called beautiful; so they are,
if you admire their black eyes and ebony
dresses--not the dreamy black eyes of the
harems, nor the sparkling black eyes of
the Syrians, nor the liquid black eyes of
the Egyptians, but the black eyes that
easily reveal the different types of
character, and are not afraid to show
it; yet we hear nothing of equal rights
and privileges among them. They are
generally occupied, but do not work !;
they look upon labor as degrading.
They rise early, take a cup of tea, and
neat and pretty; in this respect they
surpass us. The dress is black, and
never touches the ground; there is no
fussing or fumbling with trains. A
white skirt is sometimes seen a little
below the dress, with deep hem and
two tucks, and always white and clean.
Prunella CATERS are generally worn; {;
the hands are bare; the md1ltd is thrown
oyer the head, falling gracefully down
almost to the bottom of the skirt. The
mania, not being worn with us, needs
some description.
By way ofillustration, 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 yard from one corner,
remove half a yard of fringe, and put in
its place a piece of black lace about two
inches deep; we now have mania. 1t
is the md1ltd that gives the charm to
Spanish ladies in the eyes of foreign
men; they always praise it; they always
Snpak Of tho o1,Uo1fo wi oyyo,. tbox, n, ON
ton the beauty of the women. 1t has
undoubtedly this advantage: it may
conceal many defects of q face that is
not handsome, and it sets off to advan-
tage the charms of beautiful face. To
drape ones self gracefully in nldtatd
is an art that must be studied. 1t is first
thrown over the head the lace is
brought down on the forehead, some
times dropping over the eyes. 1t 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 concealed, but the right holds either a
prayer-book and rosary or a parasol.
A lady never goes out alone; two or
three go together, and colored woman
servant walks behind. Young girls are
carefully escorted by their friends
mitted to see persons of the opposite sex
alone. The matches are made by the
older people, and so effectually is this
done that the ladies all marry, and none
are divorced.
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 naturally
as small feet as the Peruvians. The Pc
ruvian made boots are too small for for
eigners.
Peruvian ladies' are not very intelli-
gent; rs soon as they pass beyond the
schoolgirl period they care little for
books OF literature. Many learn to pay
the piano when'young. but do not care
to continue when married. They are
excessively courteous in their manners,
but we are not to be mised by appear
ances. Their mode of salutation is more
of an embrace than anything else, and
they always say: MY house and all
that have is entirely at your disposal,
and we are to be as one family" They
are always wealthy in imagination-at
least they never speak of poverty. They
love to smoke. Although handsome
when young, they scarcely turn twenty
when they begin to fade. One thing al
ways lasts with them, and that is their
gait. Their movements are gliding and
graceful, and the same is true of the
men. Although the streets of Lima are
morrow and the sidewalks cramped, you
are jostled less by the passing throng in
three months in Lima than you would
be in three days in London or New York
or San Francisco. Conversation amor
the ladies generally turn upon domestic
affairs; instead of asking foreigner
about her own country and other coun-
tries that she has visited, they ask her
what her name is now (although 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 names
and ages of each. how long she has been
speaking Spanish, what she thinks of
Lima, etc.