The Republican journal., 1896-05-14

the lady part is, Beso listed Ter mand.
81 kiss the hand to you Husbands and
wives, parents and children, never fail to
address one another as mi vida, mi alma,
mi corozanito (''my Life ''my SOUL"
my sweetheart,'') in public or private;
and in closing an ordinary business letter.
even to one whom the writer has never
seen, everybody in this part of the world
adds the cabalistic letters, B. S. NJ. or B.
S. PIT kiss your hands, or 81 kiss
your feet
Desayuno, or ''tirst breakfast of bread
and coffee being over, which is supposed
to stay one $ stomach until noon or there
abouts, and Jesuita induced to depart by
the bestowal of a ribbon, we sally forth
into the street of the Elephant to see how
the world is wagging this early morning
in Merida. The sun has not yet appeared,
but the streets are full of people-Span-
iards, Meztizos (half breeds) and Indians.
all in their picturesque costumes; and at
this hour all life and movement centers in
the market plaza. The open square is
1illed with little shelters, which will be
needed by and by when the sun is high
each canopy of cloth OF mating stretch
ed upon four upright poles. Under each
impromptu tent vender Subsequently,
woman, with little pile of eggs, fruit,
lettuce, beans or some kindred garden
product spread on the ground before her
Other sellers are trotting about crying
their pottery, baskets, fish, ct cetera. Girls
in white dresses and heads tightly wrap
ped in blue cotton rebozas, their eyes
shining like jet beads in brown setting,
offer you dozen oranges, bananas or
mangoes for medic (six oents) from their
fiat baskets of painted fibre. Now and
then we see approaching what looks like
huge green brush heap perambulating
on pair of brown legs, but which proves
to be nearly naked native bending under a
load of ramon, the green twigs of partic-
ular tree which furnishes the only forage
i'll this CRASHES country. Occasionally
cumbrous carts creak by laden with bales
of henegun, or donkeys pass with panniers
on either side bullying with things to be
disposed of; but as a rule the human back
OF head is the article for burden bearing.
Taken altogether the wardrobes of lower
class Iucaticans are neither costly nor
cumbersome. The Indians wear white
drawers, tight around the waist and de-
scending to the knee. Sometimes they
have shirts on their backs, but oftimes
the back is bare and the shirt is carefully
only on those rare occasions when the
etiquette of his social circle demands.
Some of then wear long W hite shirt and
no trousers; and invariably when both
shirt and trousers are worn that portion
OF the former garment called the
FLAPS" hangs gracefully outside. The
men OF certain callings-water-c carriers,
and porters, for eAample-advertise their
vocation 10y rolling one leg OF the drawers
as high toward the hip as possible leav-
ing the other lee hanging straight down:
and when a number OF men thus arrayed
are grouped together, the effect is funny.
The women, many of whom are very
handsome, with stately figures and ewes
black as Goals, still Wear the traditional
dress of the Nayas, in the fashion of
which there has been not the slightest
change since the Spaniards first saw it,
several centuries ago. 1t is always snowy
white, a single, long scant skirt, and over
it the uipil, hanging loosely from the
shoulders to the ground like sleeveless,
low necked ''Mother Hubbard' Moth
ing could be more modest, neat looking
and becoming, the whiteness of the ma.
terial contrasting well with the dark skin
of the wearers; and cleanliness is as pro-
nounced characteristic of the Yucate-
cans as tilthiness is of the lower classes
in other parts of Mexico.
Before leaving the market place the
stranger in Merida should treat himself to
the novel experience of breakfast la
Meztizo. Many of the little mating tents
are restaurants, on limited scale, where
at least you may be sure of warm, not
to say red hot, repast. Remembering the
wise maxim, ''when in Turkey do as the
turkeys you squat on the ground after
the manner Of those around you, close to
the proprietor of the establishment, who is
also chef, steward, waiter and dish wash
er combined. First he hands you clean
jicara, or half shell of some kind of
gourd or other tree fruit, filled with
smoking chile-con- carne. The literal
translation of the name expresses perfect
ly the state of the stew-''pepper with
meat the bits of beef or mutton which
enter into it being so impregnated with
fiery red peppers that they feel in the
mouth like living Goals. You have also
another jicara, or maybe beautifully
polished turtle shell full of friioles, the
red bean of Mexico stewed in lard, and
beside it pile of crisp tortillos. The
latter, as everybody now days has learn
ed, are unleavened cakes made of crushed
corn, baked on a hot griddle like Yankee