The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1881-07-14
PERUVIAN WOMEN.

Lima is called the Paradise Of wo-
men They are called beautiful. so
they are, if you admire black eyes and
ebony tressosi not the dreamy black
/ eyes al the harems, nor the sparkling
/ black eyes Of the Syrions, nor the liquid
black eyes Of the Egyptians, but tho
/ black eyes that easily reveal the differ
ent types Of character, and are not
afraid to show it; yet we hear nothing
of equal rights and privileges among
them. For them to lay claim To- a right
is but to possess it, for they can easily
win over the priesthood, and thus have
/ the most powerful class Of Peru on their
side. They are generally occupied, but
do not work they look upon labor as
degrading. They rise early, take a cup
Of tea and go to mass. Their toilet
rquires but IA few moments. Their
walking-suits are neat and pretty; in
I 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
little below the dress, with a deep
hem and two tucks, and always white
and clean. Prunella CATERS are gem
orally worn the hands are bare the
manta is thrown over the head, falling
gracefully down almost 10 the bottom
/ of the skirt.
The subject Of dress claims most Of
/ their time and attention; their bali
/ dresses and opera and sorce suits are
magnificent. Their boots, especially.
are beautiful. No people have natural
+ w as small feet a the Peruvians. The
+ Peruvian-made boots are too small for
j foreigners.
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 manners
! but we were not to be misled by APP
+ pearances. 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 fami-
ily." They are always wealthy in imag-
/ ination-at least they never speak Of
poverty. They love to smoke. Al
+ though handsome when young, they
scarcely turn 20, when they begin to
fade One thing always lasts with them.
and that is their gait. Their move
ments are gliding and graceful; the
same is true Of the men.
The ladies are good at shopping and
making bargains they never tire OF
find thing too trivial to occupy their
time; they are never in haste there
is always manana (to-morrow) and
then another. Call a laundress, and
she promises to return your clothes in
eight days, never sooner, except at the
steam laundries, where the price is
about one-third the value Of an ordin-
airy garment. Eight days pass-the
laundress does not appear, She must
then be looked after. The things are
not ready, she says, but come to-mOr-
row-and tomorrow means another
week. BY the time that she fully un-
derstands that you are in a hurry for
the clothes, she says you can have them
sure estes nocLe (this evening, but she
raises her price about three-fLd. Take
your clothes and pay the price agreed
upon, no more. The same delays may
be expected IN all business transactions
with the Peruvians. In making any
purchase everything must either be bar
gained for or two or three times the
value will be demanded