The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-01-14
low FHE ,c s I'VE
grSaEnifcancS or t.Eos Ricos,s saaaior Of
N the Peoule.

4 WScVSueuAy CLAD, II clad at all, with
little refinement and less education,
superstitious, cruel and bloodthirsty.
4 When first arrived here-astonishcd by
the magniHcence of .'los Ricos" (the
wealthy class who, though numerically
Few, yet rule both church and state),
their splendid casns and numerous
schools and places of amusement, their
costly living, the stylish dressing and
I dazzling display of jewels, and their
graceful and generous hospitality-he
jumps at the conclusion that his
previous impressions We're absurdly
and entirely erroneous.
But the time goes on. and he learns
how the common people, who make
up the bulk of the population, live and
move and have their being, he reluc-
family comes back to his first opinion
as concerning a large majority of the
Chilians. There are SO many condi-
tions of existence in the land, and con-
sequently such variety of character,
that one may say of these people with
equal truth-thcy are both highly civ
ilized and sunk into barbarism; pro-
foundly educated and denscly ignorant;
rich as Crnsus and poor as Jobs oft
mentioned turkey; that they live in
palaces furnished with every modern
luxury, and in mud novels with moth
ing but beans and raw CLANS for daily
Bread" that they are the most warm
hearted, genial, hospitablc, and thor
oughly-dclighted people in the world,
as well as most treacherous, revenge
full, and never to be depended upon.
+ In Chill the typical rico (rich mani,
young or old, dresses every day in
figurative purple and fine linen. For
him there is no second best" attire in
the way of rough-and-ready morning
costume or business suit, for he has no
need of such, being like the lilies in
that he tolls not, neither does he spin
His clothes are always fine, dainty
and fashionable as an artist tailor
can create them; his polished
hair carefully parted in the middle or
trained to stand straight up Ia pom
padour; his immaculate shirt cuffs.
with conspicuously-jewele buttons,
extending toward his llnuclles Just so
far by hairs breadth; his very small,
sharp-toed, high-hcelcd shoes rejecting
his beauty as in twin mirrors; his mon
ogram-embroidercd handkerchief deli
cately scented, and in his eyes hand
some diamond ring and scarf-pin are no
less essential than shirt and trousers.
He has been taught department from
his cradle, and mastered that science to
perfection ut an early age. AS often
as he meets you, be it dozen times
day, he holds his slender cane dnintilv
in one well-gloved hand while tipping
his faultless tile with the other, bows
gracefully and low, and shakes you by
the hand-with never the slightest per-
,ceptible variation in the depth of the
obcisance or the warmth of the shake:
unless you happen to be man and an
intimate friend, in which case he may
embrace and kiss you.
If, being only casual acquaintance.
you call upon him on an GRAND of bust
ness or pleasure, he will hasten to in
form You that everything he possesses
is unreservcdly yours-his house, him
self; his family, his servants, are all 81
su disposition de ustcd-'at your dis
posal." His wife, who is generally
beautiful and always we'll dressed, will
smile on you benignly through a drift
of face-powder with n touch of rouge
on either side of the nose, and assure
you in soft-voweled Spanish of the
pleasure she feels of thus forming your
acquaintance-and make you believe it,
too, which is the best part of it. Fellow
foreigners tell Jus that all this tropical
courtesy means little and is only ''slsin
deep" But who cares to go deeper? 1t
is delightful, all the same, and quite
deep enough to outlast the occasion.
We, who profess to be cultured pco-
pie, and are likely to stiffen our necl,
with Yankee conceit when our ways
are compared with those of other ma
tions, might learn from the CHILEAN n
good many needed lessons in common
politencss. For example, they never
enter or leave n coach, street car, or
other public vehicle without bowling to
all its occupants. No lady or gentle
man to the manner born ever sat down
to or arose from table in Chill, either
public or private, without nm inclina-
ton of the head to all present. So in
shopping they bow to the merchant or
his salesman on entering or leaving a
store. That sort of thing, it seems to
me, as much more human between fell
low-travelers on life's short journey
than our don't-care-for-any body way.
In the streets, however, the average
Chilian might learn some good behav-
Tor from Germans, Englishmcn, and
Yankees. Here gentlemen consider it
proper tribute to female beauty to stare
into the lady's face as long as she re-
mains in the range of vision, whether
she appears to like it or not;and in pass
ing, though she be an entire stranger,
10 address her some complimentary re-
mark, such as beso sus manors, Scnorita.
Il kiss your hands, Miss or You are