The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-01-11
brought in casks and jars on the heads of


the most interesting sights of Lisbon are
the groups of handsome, bare footed girls
and swarthy, muscular men that always
surround the fountains, perhaps loiter-
ing bit to chatter and gossip, the women
in musical staccato the man in baritone
/ to match their broad chests; then shonl-
| deriug the heavy earthen ars or wooden
casks and trotting gaily away. Every one
of them hopes to return, some happy day
in the distant future, to his or her below
ed Galicia, when he or she has saved
enough mil refs by scanty living to pur-
chase tiny patch of native soil.
Prettiest of all the women in this old
city are the Gallegan maid servants of
wealthy mistresses, whom hard work and
insufficient food has not deprived of their
natural dainty curves and contours. You
may often see an excessively homely
gIanae dame, of unmistakable high de
grle. st1iding along with the air of Juno,
Tx church, OF the shops, or the prone.
made, respectfully followed by two or
tltce bewitching maids. The latter are
l3 doubt innocent of tilrtatious intentions
III e1niug the passing stranger, but their
good nature cannot quite suppress an
answering smile which makes their bright
eyes dance and dscloses CLEAN of pearly
teeth and whole families of rougish dim
plies. The flower market, too, is full of
lovely girls, the daughters of native peas
ants, whose bare feet have probably
tramped many miles before sunrise. Their
short skirts and low cut bodices and bare
brown arms afford wonderful studies for
an artist, and their great dark eyes have
haunted many travellers dreams when
far from Portugal. Even the broad hip
ped peasant matrons, who bring butter,
milk cheese, eggs, fruit and vegetables
from their distant farms TO sell in the
every day troop down the Belem road and
wake the echoes with their peculiar cries,
present some extraordinary types of per
feet figures and often beautiful faces.
The women of the Portuguese peasantry
seem to hold a very independent position.
| Though working hard from dawn till dark,
they are always cheerful, genial helpful
to one another in time of trouble and full
of ready wit. They know well their
value in the economy of life, and without
any clamor for impossible rights and
equality, take their full share of all the
happiness attainable. They work habit
ually in the fields, beginning To do so as
small children. Girls of ten OF twelve
/ years accompany the OK carts, walking in
| front OF the oxen 10 punch them with
iron pointed goa,is, while the men follow
| 10 load and unload the carts. little girls
drive the cattle aheld and mind them
while they Craze, \ Dung women cut and
carry home the grass, weed the corn and
wheat and perform their full share of all
the farm work with he men of the family,
except perhaps the heavier blowing.
While this general employment of women
nearly doubles the agricultural working
| power of the nation, the women them
selves do not seem to be either physically
or morally the worse for their labors.
/ Early marriages are the rule among the
peasantry-partly because most of the
! Portuguese conscriptious spare married
men, and therefore bachelors have temp
tations tow ard matrimony which other
wise might not occur to them. A
growing family is good investment for a
young fellow who does not desire the
dogs life of soldier, and cannot pay
several hundred dollars for substitute in
the army; 50 he takes wife to ensure
him against what he considers a worse
fate, and maybe his everlasting quietus
from cold steel or gunpowder Before
marriage, the Portuguese sutton in love is
absurdly humble and slavish, and his
sweetheart leads him merry dance in
deed; but soon as ever the village priest
has tied the knot, the positions are re-
versed he becomes her master absolutely
and may beat her as often as he likes
without violating any law. AS in every
country, the songs of the people set forth
their sentiments. In a popular serenade,
the Portuguese swain tells his Dulcinea
| that he writes to her on the palm of his
hand, his tears are his only ink, and the
pen is a fibre from his inmost heart.
Perhaps her reply, sung from behind a
| closed shutter is like this:
| Quando o sovreiso DIES haga
r o loureiero der cortica
| Entao te dmrel, meu benz,
Sc mao me der preguica.
which means, ''when the cork tree yields
bay berries, and the bay tree cork, then
perhaps | may fall in love with you, if
condescend to notice you"
Or else she sings: 81 have already five
lovers-three for the Ii orning, two for the
afternoon; what time is there left for
your"
In Portugal men play on the guitar as
naturally as Yankees whistle. The peas
ants are universally given to the instru-
ment, chiefly as an accompaniment to the
voice. In towns and villages the artisans
are often expert guitar players and walk