The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-04-07
At Martinique.

From the letter of a correspondent of
the New York Erening Post, who is
writing from Martinique, one of the
West India islands, we quote: " /
walked through the streets of st. Pierre
until L came to the busiest part of the
town, where was a great church, in
front of which l halted for a few min
utes, to watch throng of worshipers
coming in from all directions, sum-
moned by the tolling of bell to attend
vespers." 1t was a good-natured,
laxative, laughing, gossiping crowd,
composed for the greater part of colored
women, all of them gay and radiant in
the gaudiest of calicoes and colored cot
ton stuffs: there were but few meanly-
clad persons, and fewer beggars than
we had elsewhere seen. The men were
more stalwart and active in their move
ment than our southern blacks or the
negroes of st. Kits and Antigua, and
the women were more shapely and we'll
favored. There were all shades of color,
from the Saccatra, of pure African
blood, to the Sangmele, who may with
difficulty be distinguished from the
swarthy French Creole of European
descent The costumes of the women
were neat and agreeably clean, and their
gowns, of cheapest print or coarsest
colored stuffs, were arranged with taste
and carefully draped. The garment of
prevailing fashion was a single loose
wrapper" of colored calico or Powered
muslin, belted at the waist with artful
but perfectly excusable care. The
younger women leave one arm and
shoulder bare, which, thrown into
strong relief by well-washed cambria,
makes pleasing study in black and
white, well worthy of the chalk and
charcoal of the ablest Tile Club
man or { Salmagundian. When walk
ing the negresses gather up one side of
their phylacteries and fasten them
at the hip, and thus add to their jaunty
appearance by giving certain chic
to their get-up.' With a Franco-Af-
ricaine, love of personal adornment is
passion, in the qualification of which
she displays reckless extravaganza.
or the immense string of beads of ex-
traordlnary size she coils around her
shapely neck, to say nothing of the pre-
posterous rings she attaches to her ears.
do not eXaggerate when 1 say that it
would require but little stretch of the
imagination, or of the earrings them
selves, to call some of them muffin
rings. Some of these ornaments are
composed of six golden bars as large
around and as long as the wearer's lit
tie finger, bound together with heavy
bands, and looking more like the gilt
barrels of a siX-chambered pistol than
female gewgaws,' so that one is sur
prised to find that the lobe of the ear
can bear the weight of so much metal.
In keeping with these encumbrances are
brooches as large as soap-dishes, lockets
the size of snuff-boxes, bracelets, arm
lets, finger-rings of all patterns and de-
grees of inconvenience, all gorgeous,
not to say stunning so that l can
not believe the statements 1 heard re-
lterated again and again, to the effect
that all this jewelry is of pure gold, and
that even the blacklist negresses scorn
to wear brummagem or plated imita-
tions. If, however, these fairy tales be
true, then can boast that at Martinique
l had my washing done up by the
spouse of a bonanzaking, who (unless he
had paid his wife's jewellery could afford
to sit in his contingencies counting
out his money while the queen herself
was in the garden hanging up clothes.'
Little girls, maidens, matrons and an
Gent danes all wear gorgeous bandana
handkerchiefs built upon their heads
with scrupulous care in intricate folds.
and all these colts, it is needless to say,
were as gaudy if not as cute as
Easter bonnets. Many of the quadroons
are handsome, even beautiful in their
youth, and all the women of pure black
and mixed blood walk with a lightness
of step and graceful freedom of mo-
ton that is very noticeable and pleasant
to see. say all the women; but must
confine this description to those who 90
shoeless, for when a negress Grams her
feet into even the best fitting pair of
shoes her gait becomes as awkward as
the waddle of an Indian squaw, or of
black swan on dry land, and she minces
and totters in such danger of falling
forward that one feels constrained to 90
to her and say Mam'sele Ebene or
Nolrette, do, beseech you, put your
SHOES where you carry everything else
namely, on the top of your well-bal-
anced head-and do let me see YOU
walk barefoot again, for | do assure
you that neither your Chinese cousins
nor your European mistresses can ever
nope to initiate your goddess-like gait,
unless they practice the art of walking
with their high-heeled, tiny boots nicely
balanced on their heads, as you so often
are pleased to do The language of the
people of Martinique, of course, is
French. The negro Creoles speak
jargon that baflled all our attempts at
lengthy conversation, although they
understood those of our party to whom
French of Paris was not unknown.
The whites speak French with an ac-
cent that very closely resembles the
speech of the Creoles of louisiana"