The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-26

scholar. The people of the higher classes
are, as a rule, good musicians, and every
other man you meet can play either the
piano or guitar, or both. During our call
when Mrs. Salterain was at the piano she
was asked to play certain air, and upon
saying that she did not remember IL her
mother took her place. AS she played there
was dispute as TO one of the parts and
the doctor himself sat down and played IL
off from memory. drifting at its close into
the 'Marsellaise"
The Orientales. for that is what the Uru-
guayans call themselves, are noted for their
beautiful. cultured and fashionably dressed
women They vie with the Portenos, or
Buenos Ayres women, as TO beauty and con-
slider themselves much more aTistocratic and
high born. They call Montevideo the Paris
and the Madrid of South America. 1t must
be confessed that they have some reason
for the claim. The city is one of the best
built on the continent. 1t has magnificent
homes and great many wealthy inhabi-
tants. 1t has its fashionable four hundred.
who are as well dressed and as well bred
people as you will find anywhere.
They have fine houses and well-padded
pocketbooks. Many of them trace their
descent from families which came TO Uru-
quay hundreds of years ago. Their possess
sions are in great estates rented houses
and cattle and sheep. They have their pal
aces in Montevideo whose floors are mar
BILE and whose frescoed ceilings are upheld
by marble columns from Italy. They have
vast one-story buildings upon their estates,
where they entertain like lords with horse
for every guest, during the summer. In the
winter their surroundings are grand. but
very uncomfortable.
The houses of Montevideo are as cold as
the white marble with which they are
finished. The people believe artificial heat
unhealthy, and in this city, which is as big
as Washington, and quite as cold, there is
not furnace nor a Steam-heating plant
During cold snaps a hostess often receives
dressed in furs, with her hands in a muff
and her feet on hot water bottle, and
gentlemen and ladies come 10 state dinners
in overcoats and fur capes.
Such families have hosts OF servants.
They have their coachmen and footmen,
their housemaids, ladies' maids ard serving
women. Men cooks are often employed and
In such cases it is customary TO give the
cook certain amount per day, allow him TO
do the marketing and take his wages out of
his allowance. Even where he is given the
money for marketing only it is expected
that he will steal a little every day.
The wages of servants are high. Cooks re-
ceive from $14 TO SO per month. or about as
much as they do in Washington, and house
maids are paid from SO 10 SIS per month.
These figures are in gold, for Uruguayan
money Is worth even more than American.
Uruguayan families are large. When a
child is married it brings its better half to
1--we with the old folks, and often half a
dozen families will live in one house AS a
rule the girl goes TO the husbands family.
THEY KNOW HOW TO DRESS.
1t would surprise many Americans who
look upon society south of the equator as
half savage to know that there are many
Montevdeon women who wear evening and
visiting dresses which cost 500 apiece and
that a few of the upper ten have single
dresses in their wardrobes for which they
have paid from $500 1000 in gold Their
best dresses come from Paris, and they
have the styles as soon New York Our
women may also be surprised TO learn that
the South American cities are among the
best diamond markets of the world, and that
at great receptions fortunes in diamonds
are worn. The use of jewels is more COM
mon in Montevideo than IN either New York
or Washington.
Take the instance of a recent dinner here.
One of the best dressed women present was
the wife of the vice consul general of the
United States, Mr.. Thomas Howard. Mr..
Howard is an American who came TO Mon
tevideo years ago and who is now one of the
wealthiest men of the republic. His wife is
an Orentale of one of the best families. AT
this dinner she wore gown OF brocaded
white satin trimmed with a wide drapery OF
point lace, which festooned the whole skirt
and its long train. Her corsage was trimmed
with a row OF diamond butterflies some of
which were quite large. and these diamonds
ran from shoulder to shoulder. AT this din
ner there were other costumes equally fine,
among the most common of the ornaments
being aigret plumes, fastened to the hair
with elaborate diamond pins.
Uruguayan women are of the Spanish
type, tall and well formed, verging on the
voluptuous. The scrawny girls are few and
the average maiden Is large-boned, we'll
rounded and plump. AS the women grow
older they run TO adipose tissue, and not d
few of the elderly DANES are fat. The type
is uniform. The eyes of most OF the women
are dark but full Of luster, and their COM
plexions are clear, dark and rosy. Both
young men and young women look clean
and healthy and show great animation of
face and style. The men are careful OF
their dress as the women, and those of the
upper classes are very particular as to just
what they wear upon every occasion. White
gloves, you know always go with full dress
L am told that our minister wore yellow
ones when he was presented to the Presi-
dent. and that the circumstance was so
noticed that IL formed one of the subjects
Of society gossip for some days thereafter.
ETIQUETTE IN URUGUAY.
There are no cities in the world where
etiquette is of more account than in the
South American capitals. There is in Monte
video an etiquette OF the pavement. The
Oriental thinks no one but boor would
allow a lady to walk upon the outside Of
the pavement in going along the street with
him. The inside is the place of honor, and
the lady insult always have it. If two ladies
go together, the younger lady always takes
the outside. If two gentlemen walk to-
gether, each vies with the other in trying
to make him take the inside. A host must
always give his guest the inside, and the
man of low rank gives the of high
rank with whom he is walking the inside
honorable path.
Girls never appear on the street without
a chaperone. II young woman goes for a
walk or TO shop, she cannot do without
pt uir nil