The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1881-06-11
Mexican Social Customs.

Society as we understand it, meaning
the free and easy intercourse of friends
and acquaintance, ofmen, women and
children, does not exit in Mexico. Nat
urally reserved and solitary, the Mexi-
can has been forced to remain so by the
circumstances of his life: His home is
not only his castle, but his citadel. His
social circle consists mainly of his wife
and children. His business he transacts
at his Office His friends he meets at
the cafe, or on the Alameda, or the
Pasco, but his family-that's nobody's
business. He is next to the Turk in the
exclusiveness with which he regards the
seclusion of his home.
When we speak about society, and
especially of "good society,"" we mean
lovely woman, and in American society
the prominent feature is the supremacy
of the young ladies. The position of
woman in Mexico is something very diff
ferent. In fact, as far as the ordinary
life of every day is concerned, woman is
conspicuous chiefly by her absence.
At first sight Mexico recalls Denver or
Deadwood by its excessively masculine
aspect, and the question promptly
arises, "Where are the women?" They
are at home, where the Mexican thinks
they ought to be. In the morning one
may see a few of them going to church
and returning-for it is Lent, and the
custom of daily mass is partially OBJ
served, and Friday devotions are well
attended-but they never go unattend-
ed, and they look neither to the right nor
left. In the afternoon those who have
shopping to do sit in their closed car
riages outside the store, while the clerks
bring them goods for their selection.
Later, as the sun is setting, they go out
for formal drive, always in closed
carriages, in the Calzado de la Reforma,
and slowly drive up and down the wa
tered half-mile. Night comes on very
rapidly after sunset, and the carriages
drive home with lighted lamps. There
may be deep, delirious intoxication in
watching lot of carriages 90 by in the
dark and fancying that they hold the
lovliness of creation, just as there may
be in eating soup with a fork; but
have failed to see it.
AS far as L know, every newspaper
correspondent who has been in Mexico
has had desperate time in guarding
his tender affections from the bewitch-
ing influence of the soft Creole eyes,
from the languishing glances, the tender
tiirtations, the supple grace and myriad
charms which lie about his path. The
story has been told so often that it
sounds plausible, but it is manufactured
out of the whole cloth, and it is repeated
partly because it costs nothing, and
partly because nobody likes to acknowl-
edge that he has been in the land of TO-
nance and hasn't had any of the ro-
nance.
My Mexican friends tell me that with
few exceptions the women are poorly
educated; society is not intellectual; in.
tercourse is not cultivated girls are
kept in prison until they are married.
and after marriage only find closer con.
finement with harder labor. Naturally
the ties of family are all more CLOSELY
drawn, and the domestic affections alb
sorb the hearts of the women, as their
| household duties absorb their time
They say, ave would like to have
things as you have them in the States,
but we simply can't do it. 1t must he
the work of time to change these LONG.
established social rules, and as long as
they last our society must be compare.
lively dull affair.""
The natural result of the absence Of
women is that among the men there is \
general disregard of a great many amen.
tiles of conduct. At dinner they gener.
ally wear their hats, because the houses
are cooler than the streets, and there i
a great dread of colds; they keep their
elbows on the table, they expectorate j
great deal, and they have unfixed prin.
ciples in regard to folks. That CHICAGO
belle who set her visitors down as vulgar
people because they put the edge Of
their knives in their mouths instead 81
the backs would be astonished at the
feats Of the knfe-swallowers here. Vel