Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1901-05-24
People and Products
OF THE
Porto RiCan Country.

of the King Rivera. l looked Tor the
bearer of such a romantic name, ex
pecting some pale beauty of lustrous
eyes and bewitching form, but my an
ticipations collapsed when a ratty lit
tie mulatto attired in rags responded
to the beautiful name He was a wit
ness in murder case.
How easily person falls into by and
forbidden paths when he comes from
the good old homes of the states to be-
come part of the social status of the
tropics is shown by the experience of
a young lady who came from Connecti-
cut to teach school. She was sent to
the town of Caomo where there are no
English speaking people and no Ameri-
can ways. The first Sunday night she
was Mortified at being invited to
"bailie" or dance. Her very soul re-
sented the idea of a dance on Sunda1
night. Indeed, she felt quite insulted.
The next Sunday night she concluded
to go and look on; easing her con-
science, no doubt, by the belief that
she was going merely for the benefit OF
extended information and experience.
But the third Sunday night she went
again, and then she danced. and my in
formant says she never misses a Sun
day night dance now. In fact, she
looks back on her former ideas re-
garding Sunday night dances as a lit
tie queer. So easily we become the
victim of circumstances. Down here
Sunday is regarded as a holiday, a time
for all forms of social enjoyment, and
time when Fashion wears her rich
est plumes for the "bailes" In the
sunny climes, in the land of the mango
and coaco, the religious ideals of the
frost lads are apt to wither and warp,
if one does not all the time withstand
the social forces that prevail. When
| see Senorita Aponte, the lovely dam
sci across the way, brilliant-eyed
beauty of modest and graceful man
nels, go to church to say her prayers
in the morning, and then with her
father and mother attend the dance at
night, | might yearn, if | were not
married and had some of the cares Of
life upon me, to go to the bailie Just
to see Senorita weave into graceful mo-
ton the soft measures of the Borin-
quen. And, so | do not wonder that
those whose fancies are free are caught
in the meshes of a soft environment
and pulled away from the moorings of
al staid and orthodox life of the old
home far away.
Last night being a beautiful moon
light night, my family and | Joined a
party of ladies and gentlemen for d
swim in the ocean. We donned our
bathing suits at home, put on some
simple exteriors, got in the street cars
rode mile away to the beach. and
then frolicked in the moonlight and
the sea. The surf was glorious, anJ
when it broke into foam and flung q
veil of lace across the waters, trans.
formed into glittering silver by the
moon, the beauty was celestial. Fol
an hour and half we swan in the
silver foam, and then, still in our bath
ing suits. hid by outside garments, WI
started homeward, but on the wa.
stopped at one of the party's home ant
there had feast of rarebit and coffee
all the time, for an hour or more. sit
ting around in our wet bathing suits
In the states such an experience woulC
have given one the pleurisy, rheuma
tism, pneumonia, consumption, bron
chitis, grippe, and few other things
but down here it didn't phase us. w
felt better for the happy time we had
e. S. w.
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