New-York tribune., 1896-01-19
VENEZUELA'S FAIR WOMEN.
CHARACTERISTICS OF A PECULIAR lirI

TIoNs THEY ARE HARD TO SEE AND STUDY
THEIR BEAUTY AND EARLY AGING
-AMUsEMENTs.
To the American freshly landed In Venezue:a
woue, will seem scarce. But they are not reas
90 Their proportion in the population IS pfooapiS
less than New England boasts. but large e"o"7'
The customs of the country are against INC
er's ready realization Of the fact. iHa' 10 a.. ~
trouble Nowhere here. even In Caracas 10 nv
euch \ constant public beauty show as IS 70 W
seen on the fashionable thoroughfare5 Oh ali Aie'i
on o,,ea Yet there is no lack OF pretty WOMEN.
When the student has learned the coh'S''o"A
places and times for prosecuting MS ooSe'Vauo's
ne will have reason to lament SO''N''' -
subjects. u x,oo-
primarily. there are the churches. All Venezue-
-, - On - church rot on Sundays only, bat
no, a,v hav Of the week. Indeed. some OF thel'
eo every day but they are devotees, GeheEdiy pass
middle age Their chosen time Tor churc"-so'"e
Is early in the morning. but that Is the loVeieS'
mart of the tropical day. In htue wniie .,i'
am will show his brassy. blazing face ABOVE 'ne
horizon and then the birds VIII hush' the "o"e''
droop scentess in the sizzling atmosphere anu VI,
r,o,ror hide themselves n the darkened ROOMS anu
shady patos Of their houses. But II one Is 100 dAs
TO rise early. to see pretty "o'hc'' '"e '''
still. furn. shes occasions later in the cay-ia'h''
festivals memorial masses and the ike. Ihose,
however are irregular, hard TO Keep track oi al"
one must know of them beforehand 10 eet any
.,ood of the opportunities they offer So all Things
considered the mass just at daylight Is quite
charming fact.
one Is impelled to wonder. at first, wnat mas pe
come OF all the m!dd.e-aZed Venezuelan woman
A certain proportion in every gathering VIII seem
to lie young some Of them beautiful al al east
,ossesseI Of ia beaute du dlable.' ana al the
others will appear be old Can 1t be tha' those
in the intermediate stages seclude tnemseNcs' No'
at all But they with astonishing suide"nes''
The blooming beauty OF this year IS HAoie ~ pe
,ransformod into 2 crone wrnkled. yellow and bent'
next year. They rlpen and decay win raploi.!'
Girls Of thirteen and even OF eleven years OLD,
are often mothers. Ard At an age wnen the "'ni-
on of Northern climes are at their Dest ue'eiop-
mcnt these have lived their active lives as wives
and hers and are either skinny ana bony or rat
and nabby old women. 1t does not follow that they
die soon They seem simply to pass INTO sort o'
grandmotherly condition and remain there long
time.
one cham seems to be the common possession
Of Venezuelan women-beauttful eyes Ihey are
wont to be large. liquid. with a mellow light IN
their dark depths. Ike the eyes OF sea- oi
deer with little expression that couia justly
ne called soulful or intense but much tenderness
affection trustfulnoss. Now and then one mas
an exceptional pair Of eyes. with no less OF mere
animal beauty, yet greater cTpress,oh shi""'k "''
the ,ieht OF the mnl as wei. "a that OF the heart
But thes. are rare generally OF HgHter co.or Una"
the others and always the result OF an aafi'A'u'e
OF some Northern blood.
AN ADMIXTURE OF RACES
E.. ...,or c,rlous that such variations are not
r,oro frocncn, and that a ma ked racial type OF
one feature should be so general. seeing wnat an
alu,lxtlre of races there Is here lh'eh'een'
Venezuelans say that there are few OF The present
generation IN whom at least two d.stlhct strains
arc rot blended and IN most three or four are
conmirgIcd The Spanish stock. OF course pre-
dominates in; il Is mixed with Portuguese frehc"'
t,-,,sh Danish and some Indian blood. while more
,h,n a suspicion OF African Is widely dinused. es-
pccj,lly in the lower and middle classes-c'2ssllyl"s
simply on basis Of possessions "nch Is rather
on i,1e,ermiratc way Those berds afford an In
finite variety Of cOmpexions no; simply through
all possible gradations and shades OF wnite' Drown
and black but where the Indian comes in. adding
c,ear reds more or less pronounced and enectVe'
according to the clarity OF the blend to which 1t is
added often with the most charming erect
There ls however much uniformity OF color
among ladies' I'm good society. as ono sees them IN
fuu street dress either the promenade or al
s,ecal church services They are all coldly white.
M, tho clear light complexion that at least makes
pre:once OF being natural but such deau ann
solid white as sees elsewhere only on ne"
v,r ar the ftce OF 2 clown IN 2 pau,omne There
| ~ n
nrocalms itself sarched with perfect honesty.
Women do not whltewash themselves In such
stvle TO hide defects but simply because II Il tash-
ionable Many OF them know they wouid oe n'ucn
pretter without II. yet would as soon 'hnN vi
dispcuslng with gown or shoes when going aoroad
or dressing to receive company. one good th'ng IS
that they do not apply any injurious nos'rum WIN
l.,d base 10 produce the desired effect. or swai-
low arsenic to clarity their complexons. but Just
d,ub on q thick paste Of clean American corns'arcA
and Jet II 20 at that
Their common hoadIress is the man;llla OF black
six lace Drawn snugly around the sAapeiy hean'
with its delicate scalops llke jetty curs dropping
over the brow hylng loose at the sides Of the race
and perha2s lust revealing ittle the dainty ears
q, = certainly the most bewitching helddress IN
vented for womel. Infinitely more charming 'hah
any tumble OF feathers artificial flowers and lace
ever devised by French milliner In the matter
NJ street costumes a mere man Is not likely TO
notice that there is much difference between what
he sees in Caracas and what he has been ac-
customcd to seeing in New-York except that the
uniform warmth OF the climate here compels the
wearing Of lighter fabrics. In the making up OF
which there seems to be rather less elaboration
than g shown in the fasnoning Of heavier goods
And there is perhaps a little more pronounced popu-
lar taste for bright coors-but that is common in
the tropcs everywhere. AZ the opera In Caracas
the display OF fine dresses and jewels is metro
politan.
PROMENADING BY THREES.
There il little promenadng merely for the pleas
ure of going abroad to see and be seen. except in
the capital. Puerto Cabello has small but pretty
public garden. shady. and with well-kept walks. at
the mouth OF the harbor. but few ladies' ever stroll
there The Caracas Plaza. however. Is frequented
by many. particularly on the evenings when an
execrable band perpetrates there its cacophon!c
crimes. And Sundays the throngs who v.s.t
the great pleasure park into which Guzman Blanco
transformed the Calvar!o remind one OF the multi
tudes in New-YorS's Central Park But social
toms do not favor promenadng of the sort best