The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-17

the women, wish to greet one another from such a distance that speech is impracticable Gas across the streeD they hold the right hand even with the eyes and wiggle the fingers. ] The handshake in Mexico is a great institution. When one stops to chat or talk little business with a person on the street. no matter how many times one may have met him the same day, they shake hands at the meeting and likewise at the parting, in the mean time inquiring about and tell 1 ing healths. To say ''howdy'' here is a matter of two or three minutes at the very best. When one drops into mans office on business, likewise, these plea- sant little formalities must be scrupu- lously observed, else one would be set down as an i'll hammered boor. When presented to woman, do not hesitate to extend the hand, for the reguia- tion shake. It is the only thing to do. 1 When one meets friend whom one has not seen for some time it is the proper thing to embrace him. This consists in! falling upon his neck, throwing the right arm about him and batting him lovingly just above the small of the back. Women indulge in
 this custom with their own sex.
 Mexican pedestrains turn out for each other on either side, but seem to have a preference for the left. In meet ling women, however, one must always
 give them the inside of the walk. This rule also holds good when one meets ,superiors, always granting that an American will acknowledge any man Ito be his superior. One may frequently lsee these courteous Mexican men al- most quarreling to make the other fellow take the inside track. "Pase,
 senor," they implore each other.
 It is customary for men to raise their hats upon passing each other in
 the street. The carrying of canes is very general here. When acquaintances of oposite sex meet, as upon the street, the man is expected to bow first. This,
 as may readily be seen, is important If one has any acquaintances among
 Mexican women. Pass one without lowing, and she may not. know bne
 next time. Ones only hope lies in the possibility that she knows enough
 about American customs to condone the offence on the score of your ignor-
 ance of the customs of the country.
 To call a servant, hold up street lear or that sort of thing, clap the hands. ''Adios'' is employed as a, pass ling greeting as we'll as an Iadieu. In passing friend with no in- ltention of halting, one may say "Ad- jos" which covers the greeting as we'll as the parting. This form of greeting
 is much more commonly used than
 good morning." good evening" etc. l The Mexicans are inveterate smok- CTS, but they never chew tobacco, That
 practice is monoplized by the supe- irior "Americanos. Moreover, the Mexi- can is seldom offensive with his smek- ling. The practice is permissible nearly Ieverywhere--in hotel or other dining l rooms, after or even at meals, in rail- 4l road coaches. in streetcars, in places .lof amusement, etc. Clerks in drygoods lstores may frequently be seen taking a flew whiffs at a cigarette, policemen lon their beats smoke whenever they lean get a cigarette But no matter ihow sensitive one may be to the fumes ]of tobacco, one is not likely to suffer from the Mexicans style of smoking. He will light his cigarette-in rare in-
 stances a cigar-take a few deliberate Ipuffs and quit. He never smokes iA jthat feverish fashion or raises the jdense snnudge that is the delight of the average American smoker, who Iseems bent upon getting the full worth lof his big cigar. Most Mexican women Iof the commo1ler classes love their ci- Igarettes, and may be seen puffing com- fplacently in their homes, on the lstreet, in the streetcars or as they ltend their little street corner stands
 Even these people do not create much lof a smudge.s This universal smoking habit reveals itself to the uninitiated I"Gringo" sometimes in the most ama- lzing manner. It is calculated to jar
 the sensibilities of the raw American
 to see some reputable looking woman lof fair, fat and forty type, in . a, rail- lroad coach or in some other equally public place, calmly light cigarette land smoke contentediy for a few mo- lments. No one seems to mind that sort 1of thing or even notice it, and one Esoon comes to take it as a matter of lcourse. It is no uncommon thing to lsee boy of three or four years smok- ling cigarettes. Large quantities of ci- gars are consumed here, but the cigar iette is the national smoke. Mexicans 1are not given much to pipe smoking.
 The priests are reputed to be habitual
 snuff takers, and are not infrequently Iseen in the streets smoking cigarettes. In short, the smoking habit is not here
 considered dispreputable in any de- igree. r
 It is customary for men to lift their That's as funeral procession passes through the street, and the custom is Igenerally observed among all classes.
 Many men, chiefly of the peon class, raise their hats when they pass a
 church or meet a priest.
 Mexican women never go to the tchurch or to the grave when their re- Ilatives are buried. They remains at Ihorne and mourn. In case the dead man was a person of substance, large num-
 bers of carriages accompany the body
 to the grave, but they are never oc- lcupied. The friends of the dead man
 either walk to the cemetery or go in streetcars. The bodies of the poor
 are conveyed to the cemetery on the shoulders of four peons, the friends tfoIIovinn on foot The ooffips which