St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-12
WEST INDIA WOMEN.

Maud Multers offhe Tropics-HOiv They
Dress and AdOrn Thennselyes
Porto Rico Letter in Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Are the ladies pretty? 1t is purely a matter
of taste. Those writer's who have extoled
the beauty of the Cuban and other tropical
bellies have had very little knowledge Of the
girls of America. If one is fond of dolls he
will admire the tropical plant. There are
many pretty giIls to be seen among the lower
classes-more in Porto Rico than in Cuba
bright-eyed, jolly, sylph-like beings, as
graceful and supple as panther, timid and
modest, but with all the coquettish graces
that budding womanhood is endowed with
and always has been in all ages and in all
latitudes. None of them can read; none of
them ever saw the inside of school-house
and do not know of the existence of books /;
they call you an "Americano," but have IS
little idea of where an American came
from as Of the composition of the stars. They
reply Use, senor'' to everything you say to
them and modestly droop their long, black
lashes over such eyes as is supposed were the
ruin of Antony and were worn
BY that dark queen for whose mere smile
world was bartered.
These girls, these Maud Mullers of the
tropics are beautiful; have an animal beauty
that calls for admiration that is genuine and
makes them the victims of the lust of men
and the poverty or avarice of their parents
The ladies of the upper classes dress in the
most gorgeous fashion, and go great way
towards making up the deficiency in those of
lesser caste. Like the birds of the tropics
the senoritas are of gaudy plumage and wear
what would be considered extremely loud
among the bellies of the temperate zone.
Gewgaws of the most absurd and barbaric
description are loaded upon their persons,
and only those who have been in the United
States or in Paris show any degree of re-
fnement in taste. They wear the most ex-
traordinary com bin atoms of colors, and when
dressed for ball the tropical belle looks as
If she had rugged herself out to represent a
rainbo at a masquerade.
They still cling to the fashion of loading
their heads with masses of false hair, and the
chignons which were worn in North America
fifteen or twenty years ago still are found on
sale in the shops here, inclosed in paper
boxes with glass covers, like the lid of a
coffin, and are seen on the heads of the
ladies whenever you happen to find one with
out the lace scarf, which they all wear in
stead of bonnet. 1t looks like old times to
see these Waterfalls which in the States
are supposed to be obsolete.
The bellies of the upper classes, those
whose languishing eyes and rich bloom have
been the topics of so much literature in prose
and verse, may be beautiful and natural,
but with what they choose to consider artifi-
cial adornment they are not Their eyes are
wondrous black and bewitching, and to be
able to use them effectively is matter of ed
ucation. 1t is said that Cuban women-and
by that mean the whole West Indies-can
throw more expression into glance of the
eye than any in existence, but the people
who say it have probably firted with them or
seen the glowing of a heart in love. To me
their eyes all look alike, beautifully black,
sensuously languishing and generally inTl-
cative of bad temper, but otherwise ex-
pressionless. They haven't half the expires
sion of the eyes Of thoroughbred horse or
dog, and are simply evidences of passion,
not of intelligence.
And with the eyes ends the Cuban wo-
mans beauty. She would spoil them
she could, but as she can't she daubs the
plaster on her face all the thicker The
chemists here sell a sort of paste made of
powdered eggshells which the women paint
their faces with until they have the appear
ance of plaster images. They take the stuff
with them in the cars, to church and to the
opera, and when they think nobody is look
ing give their faces daub. There cannot
exist in the mind of any one of them a sup
position that this plaster of Paris complexion
deceives people, but why they think chalk is
beautiful is mystery. The neck and ears
of West India belle are about ten shades
darker than her nose and cheeks.
Their mouths are usually large, their lips
thicker than is consistent with classic rules,
but their teeth are usually white, even,
pretty and well preserved. Although they
make sweet meats or "duces'' great part
of their diet for brea kfast as well as dinner
you seldom see woman or man without
good teeth.
But the most disagreeable thing about
Cuban woman is her voice-that low, sweet
musical tone which is told about as one of
the attractions of Turkish beauties is not
heard here, nor is the bold accent of the Eng
lsh girl noticed anywhere in the West
Indies. The voice Of the most refined lady
is usually as harsh and rasping as the cry of
a parrot, and she always talks very loud and
in high key.
They mature early and fade early, these
tropical women. They either dry up and
witner OF become very obese. There are no
beautiful old ladies to be seen, as in all parts
Of the United Stats When they reach forty
years of age they are either gaunt and sour,
like crab apple, or else fat and greasy.
Their comDlexions are ruined by the use of
the plaster have described and the lack Of
exercise shows in their awdwarkness as we'll
as their physique. The only exercise West
India woman ever takes is in rocking
chair.