The evening times., 1899-10-17
MEXICAN POLITENESS.
The Foreigner Should BE Informed
ns to its Exuct Meaning.

(FTom the Mexican Herald)
Speaking of the customs and fcrmalities
Of the Mexicans reminds me of a curious
incident which once came under my notice.
The story is true, and will, l think, on
that account bear repetition. \ foreigner
was once travelling in the north of Mex
leo. His business took him to a small
town in the interior at some distance from
the line Of railway. and consequently 10
reach his destination he was obliged 10 pro-
ceed on muleback The traveller arrived
late in the afternoon. and as he was wearily
plodding his mule up the main street OF
the pueblo whom should he meet but
Mexican gentleman who had been intro
duced TO him in one of the southern cities
of the Republic. The acquaintance, it
must be mentioned, was a slight one, and
by no means intimate The Mexican. how
ever. Immediately he caught sight Of him.
re!ned in his horse, dismounted and came
forward 10 meet the ether man. The usual
preliminary courtesieS passed between
them, and then as the conversation be-
came mere general, the foreigner fell to
admiTng the MeXcan'S horses in terms OF
unbounded admiration, and at the same
time G:lated upon the discomfort OF tray-
cling by mules. l presume that this praise
of his horse must have been pleasing to the
Mexican for he Immediately. in the most
affable way possible, bowed to his COM
Danion, and waving his hand toward the
horse said: Senior esta su DISPOSE
cion.
Now the stranger had heard often enough
of this custom, and therefore ignorance
could not be pleaded. Indeed, if / am
not very much mistaken, he had been heard
10 make vaunt that if ever anyone made
him an offer in this fashion he was going
to accept it right away" True TO his
boast he ar once returned thanks for the
gift in the most conclusive terms. The
Mexican, Of course, was terribly taken
aback. However, he concealed his surprise
as best he could, and made some vague
but polite answer. The truth was, he hard
ly believed the man knew what he was
saying. The stranger soon showed he had
sufficient brass to carry the matter
through, and at once added that he shoul |
have much pleasure in sending his rCzo
around for the beautiful present the next
morning. The Mexican simply observed
that as he was the donor he would attend
to that. And SO they parted. The upshot
of this affair was that about an hour after
this meeting the horse was brought around
to the door of the strangers hotel by the
| owners servant.
Now the question arises which man came
out best. The foreigner who was cute
enough to make deal or the Mexican,
who with Quixotic foolishness gave up his
horse? For Mexican to part company
with his horse is worse than having an
| eye-tooth pulled out; but in this case evil
IDENTIFY his word was of more value than
| his steed. Another possibility which ma
| have caused him to act as he did, that per-
| haps ne did not wish to insult man VIII ]
had been introduced to him by one of his
| old friends. OF course, bear in mind that
all b2nnpnpf n
town, where possibly the old customs are
more strictly observed than in Mexico City,
where people are rapidly learning to BE-
more cautious and less ceremonious.
| This is only one of many such tales.
| Some are true, and some are undoubtedly
untrue. But in any case l do not at all
sympathize with those who would condemn
| this polite custom as insincere
| and hypocritical. For an En-
glishman to express himself in this way
would be ridiculous. simply because. it doe:
not happen to be the custom of his land
but in the case of the Mexican it is quiz;
different. II We consider for moment,
think an explanation for this formality
can be readily found. Among ourselves
| when anybody admires our possessions W,
| as often as not say nothing or perhaps WI
smile deprecatingly and say ''glad you like
| it, etc. On one or two occasions l have
| even known an awkward pause to follow
| Now the Mexican way of passing the Who'll,
matter off pleasantly Is to simply offer yol
| everything he has, or the particular OBJ
jeet you happen to admire; few word
are then wasted in harmless courtesies
But what of that; surely the simplest mus
know that the offer is not meant to b,
taken literally, and therefore ON that ac
count / think in common fairness thee il
no hypocrisy. Are there not many stool
phrases which society countenances among
u.s. and are we supposed to take them lit
| orally? Certainly not.
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| Take Laxative Bromo Quinine Tablets. AL
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