Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-01-23
e,vyR CUSTOMS IN MEXICO.
.h.. wake she Stranger stare
Thing and wonder.

RI. oddities of Mexican lie and GUS
Ing ,;Le the tourist from the United
TOM b most forciblc manner. The
s'a's .aing ne observes is that the men oil
hf's '" extremely large hats, and the
WeN no hats at all. The ordinary
@ou sra,o costs $15, while those bearing
sou'g tandeome ornaments so universally
~ run in price all the way from $50
rsos0 The Mexican invests all his
- alns "a his hat. Men whose wages
SUI, -, more than $t2 month often
As sombreros which represent whole
'...oris income. A servant at the house
w. friend was paid off the other day
~, The three months his employer had
zen absent. lie got $42, Of which he
IN s35 for a hat and gave 81 to his
family.
The next thing you notice il that every
hlock on street has a different name,
and when you start out on foot to make
sisit YOU become bewildered at once,
a,d have TO call carriage. Nearly
go saint in the calendar has street
.smed after him or her, and nine-tcnths
- the city has the religion Of the people
thus illustrated.
Another thing that surprises you great
" Is that nearly every man you meet
makes you present of a residence. He
orasps your hand with ardent cordiality
Tben he leaves you and says: " Ny house
4 yours: il stands Numcro trcss-Calle, !"
and 80 on, land is at your service. :"
The next man tells you that your house
4 such and such number, and he shall
be angry il you do not occupy it. AS
neither OF them has enjoyed the honor
Of your acquaintance for more than FIVE
minutes. and both are only casually in
troduced, this excessive generosity is
quite embarrassing. But it is only the
Mexican way of saying, I'm pleased to
meet YOU" II often leads TO comical adj
ventures, however, for the gentleman
who tenders such pfofuse hospitality
VERY seldom remembers you the next
morning. People have accepted these
ardent invitations, and been met with a
cold welcome.
Another amusing and puzzling pecu-
arity is that everybody lives over q
shop. Even the millionalres rent out
the first floor of their residences for bust
ness purposes and live in the third story.
The handsomest house in all Mexico has
railway ticket Office on one side of the
entrance and cigar shop on the other.
Everybody smokes; women as we'll as
men. They smoke in the street cars, in
the shops, at the opera. everywhere. /
have seen man upon his knees in q
chapel muttering his prayers with q
lighted cigar in his hand.
The street cars run in groups. Instead
Of starting car every ten minutes from
the terminus, three are started together
every half hour One car is never seen
alouc, nor two together, but always three
in row, less than half block apart.
1t requires two conductors to run car
One approaches passenger and sells
him ticket. The second one then
comes in and takes the ticket. In some
respects it is an Improvement on the bell
punch system. There arc first-class cars
and sccond-class cars. The former are
Of New York manufacture, and similar
to those used in that city. The latter
are of domestic construction. have but
few windows, and look like the cabooses
used on railroad freight trains. First
class fares are sometimes as high as
twenty-five cents, but are more often a
MEMO % Ia cents), being governed by
the distance. Second-class fares are al
ways one.half the amount of first-class
fares. Street car drivers carry horns.
and blow them when they approach
street crossings. The conductors usual
Y carry revolvers. Nearly everybody,
IN truth, carries revolver.
Horseback riding is the national
amusement, and the streets are full OF
aorsemen, particularly in, the cooler
hours of the morning and evening. The
proper thing to wear is wide sombrero,
very tight trousers of leather or cas-
Amere, with rows of silver buttons up
anu down the outer seam; q handsome
embroidered velvet jacket, a scarlet
a'Sn, sword and two revolvers, not to
mention spurs of marvellous size and de-
agn' and saddle of surprising magnif-
"A Mexican caballero often spends
N.eOO Tor an equestrian outfit. His
saddle costs from $50 to $500. his
%oFu $50, his silver-mounted bride
~ ms silver spurs as much more, the
sena silver buttons on his trousers 800,
ny nat 500, and the rest of his rig in pro-
Inc Mexican small boy, if he has
Wealthy parents, is mounted after q SINH
y fashion, even Co the revolver and
s~0'u: An equestrian costume for q
40 ~ q ten years can be purchased for
e eSvus SaO, not including saddle and
aae Mexican ladies do not ride any
wv S.0.e than their sisters In the United
r'a.cs Social etiquette prohibits this
,SS. .:a,, unless they have brothers to
~ with them TIE ......a. -. 8 -----.