Evening star., 1898-12-17

the Calle Florida. We NAV take chances
Win Win II every sunday at the races. or we
may stare at its diamonds every night dur
ihS the opera season. If we have good In
ioductlons We may go inside is mansions
ana attend its fine dinners. or perhaps drop
IN Tor a game at the swell Jockey Club
"hefe fortunes sometimes change hands in
a night. --
The races are one of the social institu-
tons of the Argentine capital The presi-
dent and his cabinet the officers Of tha
army and navy. and every ono who nre-
tends to be anybody. attends them and
inns notwithstanding that they are ALWAYS
held upon Sundays. The chief race tract,
Is owned by the Jockey Club. This club IS
the most celebrated in South America Its
mutation fee Is three times -iat OF any
club in New York, and the .nnual dues
equal more than many an Argei.tiue Young
man earns in year. Its club house will
compare favorably in its furnitIre and fin
ishing with almost any palace OF Furnne
The races are all under this club and all
the money wen and lost passes through its
hands. 1t takes Il certain percentage of all
the bets made. and when ! tell YOU that
last year more than thirteen million dol
lars passed through the hands of its pool
sellers you can see that a small percentage
will give the club very big income There
are many fine horses in the Argentine and
the races are will contested. The day | at
tended them eighty-seven horses were en-
tered and the grand stand contained more
than ten thousand people A building COW
to pool selling, and there was Il stream of
men going to and from the windows of This
building 10 make their bets or to receive
their Winnings. Every one was betting
Men, women and children put their money
on every race and as the horses neared the
winning post the crowd in the grand stand
went wild. Ten thousand people stood up
some climbing on the benches, and now and
then yell went UP from many thou
sand threats. 1t was a well-dressed crowd
and there seemed to be almost as many
women as men in it. There were the poor,
as well as the rich, although the former
were shut off N a cheaper section of the
stand by themselves.
In Palermo Park.
The Sunday afternoons Of the Argentine
people are spent up to 3 or 4 o'clock at the
races. The races begin at l. and are sup
posed to stop at 3. AT about $50 you will
see all the carriages turning toward Pa
lermo Park This is a beautiful forest and
garden, covering many acres. 1t has fine
drives, magnificent palm trees and winding
lakes, with here and there cafe where
you may stop for refreshments 1t is on
Sundays and Thursdays that all fashionable
Buenos Ayres comes to Palermo. On Sun
day afternoons the crowd Is immense, and 1t
is estimated that there are often as MANY
as 1.0O0 carriages and 10J0J foot passengers
to be seen there during single afternoon.
The carriages are owned by al classes.
The people of the Latin races are fond of
show and the Spanish, the Italian and the
Argentine of moderate means will starve
himself during the week in order that he
may take q drive on Sunday. Most of the
turnouts, however are owned by the swells.
Some of these are magnificent. They have
coachmen and footmen In livery The
horses in some cases have har0ess plated
with silver and gola, and they are of as
fine stock you will find in Hyde Park or
in the Bois de Bouiogne. Young bioods sit
on high drags and direct their horses as
they drive with gloved hands. On the
backs of other rigs you will see stiff backed
little tigers or footmen in gorgeous dress.
Cavalry officers in uniform gallop by you
and boys canter along on ponies. At Just
about o'clock the crowd is the thickest,
and at this time il is a sight for the
gods and men, especially for the men,
for most of the carriages are open and
the majority of the women who sit in
them are of that beautiful type which is
seen at its best in Buenos Ayres. Rosy
faces, with luscious lips and large luminous
eyes, look out at you from nearly every car
riage that passes. The pictures are well
framed. There are no dark mantaS or head
Shawls here, such as they have in Peru.
There is no prudish modesty no dropping
of the eyes and blushing at the sight OF
men. These are live flesh and blood girls.
not nuns. They are girls who are not
afraid to look you in the eye, and who evil
IDENTIFY feel well able to care for themselves
although their fathers and mothers by
Spanish custom keep them secluded. They
do not often walk Upon the streets and YOU
seldom see them out of doors except in car
every afternoon at the windows, and as you
look up, if the street is clear, you may per-
hapS be rewarded with smile. At least [
was. / remember how one looked down
upon me from one of the SWEETEST houses of
Buenos Ayres, and as her eye caught mine