The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-04

! the bride or the groom. Or. - d~.oant s
| about marriage in South Ameriea. y !. s ~
! IL taking girl to wife 1t is ant Il, e q saz
sIdered a matter Of course thas ~ y
| young man marries her whole ss--s
| lily also. He has no occaess. An
surprise or disgruntlement n $50
with his bride fifteen or twenty s sesa'ss
come to share his household and dorrss slA
comforts, including all her avaiIahls -. 49,
tIves and their servants. These Ia4ir.-A&
very clannlsh race, and s.,an
Is apt to be willing to adas a.aef
raft OF sisters and cousins and annss"
to mention a mother-in-law. rath.s - nos
have his son or daughter leave the f,,1aaaa
Dof It is due to the strength az = ...sJ
attachments among them that hotel. Y
South America are only for STRANGERS =
afar: the natives always find hosri,.ysS
entertainment among their kindred a'f
Ii IS a peremptory rule that rua,r;...
must always be announced a long fin.
advance. A short engagement Womb !.
considered scandaious. On the night -
| fore the wedding it is customary fo- ~
bride 10 go TO church dedicated ~ co. 30
Mercedes, there 10 receive the sacrarn@a4
after confessing and being absolved f..15
her sins. 1t is best that she shoul5 =
hither In her bridal dress. which il 49, |.
by the priests and sprlnkled witb -
water. a pretty custom often folIowaJ Y
Tor the young woman's girl friends ! +
sprinkle the bridal bed with roses /. I
Variaoly the marriage ceremony Is =
emnized in the evening and usualIIv -
followed with dancing, singing ~;
drinking and an uproarious time gene-,lss
The Saint Mercedes referred IN /. ~
patroness of maidens, and on her dav 49,
year all the girls assemble in church ~ $50
ceIve the sacrament. On this orcsssss
they write their wishes on pieces Of nars.
enclose them IN envelopes. and drop t5fsr.s
into a box provided In the sacred edifr.
for that purpose. The priests open las
envelopes and give the enclosures 4, ~.
parents of the young ladies, who grant -
wishes or not as they see ht. M
On their way to and from church av.~.
day the virgins with their attendsr.,
must run the gauntlet of the dndez ~
more bowling swells than these latter a.
to be found anywhere in the world. The
are mostly the sons OF rich planters !,
ranch owners, and the fashions theg
affect are the most advanced possible. Ii
is from Paris, however, and not fror, Ian
don that they get their styles. The s.eer.
meux" of the Boulevards are their nnfsT.
''Lagartigos" they are called. because NJ.
lizards on rock, they sun themselves !,
street corners and in front of the hntsi-
exchanging audible remarks uuop Ri,
young women who pass by On seeing
maiden walk modestly past, prayer-boos
in hand with eyes cast down, one savs
she has!" Another whispers. afsnf
she a beauty" Here's the cues,
of the waIkl' murmurs tbi,d I
Perhaps you suppose that the women ara
offended at being thus addressed by thsss
Washers. If so. yOu are very much uis
taken, for they enjoy the thing greatly
These are, in fact, the only compliment.
they ever have a chance to listen 4
Ladies from other countries do nat EEs
them SO much. Not very long ssp de
scrawny daughter of Yankee es1rynsa
was so outraged in her feelings At he;nc
spoken to in this admiring way 5sfash.
i0nable gosling in Buenos Ayres fhst she
promptly iabbed one of his eyes out With
her parasol Another girl from Baltimore.
who was remarkably pretty, was run After
on a street in Monteyideo by youth, Who
grabbed her, kissed her on the forehead,
and then ran away as fast as his les
young man arrested for assault, but. when
the case came up in court, the judge
merely said:
'.Do understand that the young gentle
man is accused Of kissing this strikingy
beautiful lady2"
THAT is what he did, replied the indig-
nant papa.
"Well, who wouldn't" said the juigs
grave!y, after moment of reflective con
temptation, and dismissed the case
Notwithstanding the strictness VIA
which women IN South America
guarded, IL does not appear that tn
morals are exceptionally high, alth0ugha
a rule they make good wives and mothen
The function of the duenna is rathefso
protect the reputation than to preserve The
chastity of the mistress A very different
scS ,,f 4
sexes IN these Latin countries from that
which prevails here. It is always held IL
such cases that the man is not at fault, but
that the female culprit is wholly gRlltY,
since ne would not have sinned without
her assent. A Spaniard viii kill his wife,
perhaps, if he discovers that she is unfaith-
full, and the act is usually considered jus-
tlAable; but he may at the same time re-
main on entirely friendly terms with her
lover. In Chile women who have sinned
and repented wear a garb OF penitence OF
white cachemire with a white shawl over
the head and covering the face. This cos
tune is called the amanda" or VOW. One
sees such penitents not infrequently in
churches, where the white robed figures
come IN and kneel silently, looking very
picturesque.
Women do all the religion in South
America. OF the men il may fairly be said
that they believe in nothing. Ii they had
their way the priests would all be driven
ont of the country; but the latter are too
strong for them, backed as they are BY
petticoat faith and influence. Neyerthe-
less, the control of the priesthood In these
republics, which was formerly well-nign
absolute, has been, to great extent, done
away with. Ecuador still remains practi.
cally colony of the pope's. Both it and
Bolivia are ruled wholly from the Vatican,
and the clergy run everything. governing
and making the laws. All creeds save the
Roman Catholic are excluded from the
country, and legal enactment for
bids the importation OF any book without
the sanction of the Society of Jesus. Not
long ago any Chilean lady who chose 70
marry a Protestant was Obliged TO SUD
scribe 500 to an asylum for fallen women,
as If she partook of their disgrace. Twen-
ty-live dollars being charged Tor marriage
"a very large sum for poor man TO save
the lower classes have usually dispensed
with any ceremony, contenting themselves
with the condition of concubinage. IL IS
reckoned today that IS per cent OF the
children born in Ecuador are illegitlmate.
South American women OF the upper
class are. as a rule, of idle habits. When
not at church, where they spend large
part of their time, they gossip, READ
French novels, fan themselves and eat
candy. They are great consumers OF con-
fectionery. Very little exercise of any sort
do they take. A family of three persons
will ordinarily have a dozen or more ser
wants, while household of modern SIZE
may keep as many as forty or hfty DO
mestics. Each one has something IN par
ticular TO do, and will not do anything
else. One sets the table, but another NUS
clear away the dishes, while third Is ex-
pected TO wash the things. You hire
servant, and the latter brings his or hsf
entire family, as a matter Of course. W
the other hand, wages are very loA