The Hawaiian gazette., 1885-12-08
Lovely Women in Lima.

The ladies of Lima are all eyes. They have
the reputation of being, as q class. the most
beautiful in the world, and, meeting them on
the way to mass in the morning or shopping
later in the day, one can easily see how they
obtained it. 1t is the manta, which they wear
in such q coquettish way that gives them their
reputation for beauty, for it conceals every
feature except their bewitching eyes and love-
" olive complexion. No matter how ugly her
mouth and her nose are; no matter how high
her cheek bones or large her ears, manta
will make any women with pretty eyes look
handsome, and, like charity, it covers multi
tude of sins.
On the street the women look like pro-
cesson of nuns, but in their homes when they
are dressed, like the Queen of Sheba. Indoors
shc is bright, vivacious, and winning. With
more passion than intellect, with very little
knowledge of the world outside of her own
orbit. she never reads newspaper and never
looks at book, but she is up in art and operas,
plays the piano brilliantly and with exquisite
taste, and talks like conversational blizzard.
She is affectionate, impetuous, and strong
willcd; gushes over what she likes aud shud-
ders over what does not please her. Implu-
sive, frank, and generous, she is easily be-
trayed, and the principal object in life of her
mamma is to watch over her like a hawk. At
seventeen or eighteen she marries-olten
younger still. At twenty five she Is the
mother of three or four children, shrunken and
wan, or else Unfortunately fat. Their good
looks seem to go with youth, and old maids
are unknown.
A Peruvian soldier is usually accompanied
by woman called rabona, who sometimes
is his wife. They receive rations like the
soldiers, but no pay. They are faithful and
enduring but degraded creatures, who follow
the army in its long, weary marches assisting
their husbands by carrying part of their load,
and about half of them have babies slung over
their shoulders i'll blankets. When camp is
reached they do the cooking; in battle they
nurse the wounded and rob the dead Water
is very scarce along the coasts of Peru, where
most of the marching and fighting is done, and
1t is part of the duty of rabona to see that
her husband does not die OF thirst.
Milk is pedded about Lima by women, who
sit astride Of a horse or a mule with big can
hanging on either side of the saddle behind
them. When they ride up to doorway they
give a peculiar shriil scream, which the SER
vaut within recognizes.
The fashionable entertainment in Peru is
bull-baitiug. The bull is not killed. as in
Spain and Mexico and other countries, and no
horses are slaughtered in the ring. Tie ami
NAL is simply teased and tortured to make a
Liman holiday. The young men of the city
do the batting, and it is regarded as very
high sort of athletic sport, like polo at
Newport. The young ladies take darts made
of tin, decorate them with ribbons, lace and
rosettes, and give them TO their lovers to stick
into the hide of the bull The great thing is
to cast these darts so as to strike the bull in
the fore shoulders or in the face, and in order
to do it lie who throws them must stand be-
fore the animals horns. Active young men
do the trick very dexterously, but it takes
nerve and agility, and at times fair seporitas
have seen their lovers ripped open.-EecIn,ge