El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-07
By
. Frank G. Carpenter

, walk past the window. which is tho
| beginning Of the bear act of which ]
I write further on
But suppose you get your first sight
of your girl at a ball Here the men
and women do not mingle together eE-
cept in the dances. As you enter you
see the women seated on one side Of
the ballroom, while the men stand in
groups round the dOOrways or
stroll through the halls When the
music begins the men can select their
partners without the IOrmallLy OF an
introduction and you can pick out your
unknown pOllita or love at first
sight" even il you have never met
her before, and ask her to dance You
NAV even tell her how much you ad-
mire her and during the waltz if you
whisper sweet nOthings into her pearly
pink ear she Will only cast down her
eyes and mOdestly thank you for the
compliments paid
At the end of the dance you will
lead her back to heraseat, and if you
have made a favorable impression she
may let you have another dance later
on. She is coy, however. about giving
her name and address, but II she likes
you she may suggest that II you are
really in earnest YOU can easily find
out. This means that you may follow
her home and thus learn where she
lives. After that the servants or
others can easily give you her name
This being accomplished, the way to
cOurtship is open and the bear act may
begin.
Counting by Telephone.
And now comes the real courtship,
which is known as playing the bear
I have seen q little Of II during my
stay in the Central American countries,
but here in Mexico the custom has been
greatly improved, and il is now carried
on even by hand telephones, in which
Juliet standing on the balcony or be-
q n. hal r. nar is
window. throws a combination receiver
and transmitter TO her Romeo, on the
street below. and the two whisper tne.r
love messages back and forth over this
wire. This is the latest innovation and
as yet il is not very common
The old method of playing the bear
may be seen on any residence street 1T
certain hours Of the day or evening
The man is not allowed to cali the
girl and he cannot meet her alone
He has the right. however, TO walk up
mad down the street in front OF her
house. and to OSle her at q distance
He may even chat with her If she viii
as she sits on the balcony or behind
the bars of the first-stOry windows
All OF the Mexican residence windows
are barred, and these dear little
chickens are kept as it were, In IRON
cages
lows We win take the lover VINO as
yet is comparatively unknown he
may have sent his present and nave
intimated that he greatly admlres the
girl She knows when he VIII come
to walk in front of her window, but
she may not appear. However, II ne
comes again and again at the same
hour and she likes him she VIII 1lna-lS
come forth. and afte- that the visits
may be continued from day TO day III
she likes him not she may not appear
at all. and after @ week or so ne may
give UP in despair
Even when the mans suit is favor
able his COurtShip goes slowly Inc
first reward may be only a smile. the
next few words from the maiden ana
later on a bunch Of flowers or some
little present Of her own needlevTorE
may be dropped. The man may sere-
made her and later on she may beckOu
him to come closer under her window
and if she is well up TO date may drop
down the hand telephone and thus let
him hear the sound of her voice
This playing the bear is eNpecIe Q
to continue at the pleasure Of the girl,
and the bear is supposed TO be on
hand every day, rain or SHINE, Tor lle
purpose. If ne comes only when the
sun shines he is considered 1air
weather lover and is apt to und the
blinds closed after the first heavy
rain
I have heard Of cases where suon
cOurtship has gone on for years, the
bear frOlicking about Tor months oe-
fore the tickle maid would exchange
a single word with him. In one IN
stance here a young man has Kept II UP
for three years and he has not yet got
to the telephone act The other day
this beau was asked why he con-
tinued to play the bear when ms
sweetheart gave him so little encour-
agement. He replied "Oh I love her
so dearly, and she is so rich-
Counting the Whole Family.
During this bear act the family Of
Hm
the girl knows what IS gong on ny,
keep the girl in until they have lnEestl-
gated the antecedents of the Woulc-2H
lover. and when these are not SaJis-
factory she is forbidden to go to the
window.
If the man proves all right the fam
lily still keeps track Of the courJshlp,
and after they conclude that he has
served long enough he is invited mo
the house This means that the family
is favora BILE to the match, and is prae-
ticallv an engagement. The man Is
then allowed TO court openly. bur Wne.l
he comes to call he finds q NUMBER OF
the other members Of the family pres
ent. and he cannot see his sWeelneaEl
alone. She may perhaps come with n-In
to the door. and thereby give MIN an
opportunity to steal a good night KISS.
but as a rule all Of his billing ana
cooling is done in the presence OF papa
and mamma. grandma and grandpa
and Of little devils in the shape OF the
younger brothers and sisters, whose
saucer-Iike eyes never close during his
stay.
If he thinks TO escape by taking his
girl TO q concert or rheauer ne learns
that Il is the custom for him to ask
the mother and others Of the family
to go with them, and he is also eN-
Dected to make presents to the par
ents. brothers and sisters during the
courtshfp. This makes his counting
very. expensive, and he is anxious 70
hurry the wedding day. when he may
have his love TO himself
How American Courted Mexican
Speaking Of wooing the whole family,
I heard yesterday OF how an American
railroad conductor who married a
Mexican woman fought this custom TO
a finish. After he had become engaged
he went for the first time to see his
betrOthed and the whole family came
in to make things agreeable. He sat
and sat. hoping that they would leave,
but they sat him out to the end It
was so for the second visit, and at the
third also he found everyone present
He then crooked his finger at the old
man. and when the two had gone out
side into thy hall the American said
that it was the custom in the United
States for the engaged lovers to be al
lowed to be by themselves He thought
that if he was to be trusted with the
girl after marriage. he ought to be
trusted with her before marriage, and
said that if he could not see her alone