The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-10-29

The most remarkable part of the beauty
of the Mexicans is their small and elegant
feet. l certainly have seen as pretty feet
belonging to American ladies as any that
have noticed here, but they are much rarer.
One reason for this is that the Mexicans dress
to their feet, being ready to endure any
amount of torture in the way of tight shoes,
high heels, ETC., to make their feet look
smaller, while the American girls are too
sensible to make such sacrifices.
At the other extremity, their heads, the
Mexican girls also have some peculiarities
that are very fetching. | don't speak now
Of the elegant hats of French design and
make that cover the heads of the majority
of the fair frequenters of the Alameda; these,
though beautiful, are essentially common
place as they are found all over the world
from Maine to Japan, and between our
selves the fathers and masculine providers
generally, in this country must heap curses
loudIand deep on the heads of whoever first
introduced the said hats into Mexico. Many
ladies here with a realizing sense of the
truly beautiful, dress their heads in the old
way with Spanish mantilla which, worn
as the Mexican and Spanish girls alone
know how, twisted around the head and the
ends brought around and back and through
in some way that / take it no right-minded
man can fully understand, is calculated to
produce a maddening effect on the mascu-
line organization. 1t would be impossible
to believe that any woman would abandon
sucn becoming head-gear for a hat if we
did not know of that curious twist in
woman's otherwise well nigh perfect nature
that makes her dress, not to please the men,
but to spite other women. As regards the
rest of the toilet of the Mexican lady she has
also a speciality of her own in black. She
can produce effects with this color that
seems inimitable, but she is weak on the
60, ,<RlN ND fha Of har
wardrobe are seldom just the right thing at
least to me they mostly produce an I'M
pleasant impression without in many cases
my being able to tell exactly why. The ma
irons are generally more expert at dressing
their small children than they are at dressing
themselves. Many Of the children's toilets
are very becoming, though there is custom
from the French again of allowing the little
ones to run around with bare legs in all
weathers and temperatures that is simply
murderous.
In stature the Mexican ladies are gen-
orally below the middle hight of womel I.
Tall women are rare IN this city. The fig
ures are, asa rule, inclined to be dumpy Ia
rule that has many beautiful eXcsptions) in
accordance with the well-known ethnologi-
cal fact that the Glance proportional figure
is rather of the Teutonic than of the Latin
races.
vations, smoking cigar in some choice nook
where we have view Of the passing crowd,
promenading little, exchanging few
words Of chaff or gossip with friend, bow
ing or flirting with some female acqusint-
ance, all OF them occupations in which we
only initiate the masculine frequenters OF
the Alameda, O'Clock arrives, the bands
play a ddnzd as a sort of sweet farewell
and withdraw. In five minutes more tue
crowd is thinned out materially, and in ten
minutes the park is almost deserted and
muscular porters run about gathering up
the chairs, piliug them into incredible
structures and bearing these off to some I'M
known limbo until next Sunday. The
crowd crosses San Francisco street with
singular unanimity seeking the shady s de,
which is already occupied at all favorable
lounging places by bands of the same dudes
that we saw a while ago at the end of the
entrance alley of the Alameda. These gen.
tlemen are called in the slang of Mexico,
logarti JOS or lizards, from the habit they
have, like the animal. of sticking close to
and being supported by the walls Of the
houses. We shall find Lizards" OF good
family and fair colors sticking along the
walls from the time that we leave the park,
but the largest ard most brilliant gather
ings are seen on the block where is situated
the Iturbide hotel and jockey club. On the
next block eastward the lizards have al
ready commenced TO de eriorate, and by the
time me get to the great Plaza they are moth
ing but common loafers. The object of all
these gentlemen is, of course, TO admire the
fairer portion Of humanity, and doubtless
they, or some of them, receive a fair share
of admiration in return. The Mexican dude
is, however, at the tail end Of that despised
class. Thin. knock-kneed, spindle-shanked,
with countenance prematurely aged by
the marks of dissipation and degrading
passions, dressed in weak, exaggerated
Imitation of last years fashions as they
were in Paris hence about as men dressed
some three years ago in London or in New
York. The jennesse doree Of this city does
the country less credit and gives foundation