A Tour Through South America

by A. S. Forrest

AN INTERIOR, CARTAGENA.

in Panama that frills and flounces still linger. Smoking is quite common amongst the women all over Latin America, and the fair sex in Colombia are no exceptions. Their cigars are often carried in their hair. In Panama the ladies have a freedom that is quite notorious; far from being confined behind iron gratings, they are allowed the diversions of balls, dances, supper parties, and receptions, without any fear of the control of their husbands, who are not always in attendance. The Panamanian señoras are extremely good-natured, and their bright smiles and dangerous glances are bestowed with a careless freedom that would shock their fair sisters in Buenos Ayres. The education of women in South America generally is not so far advanced as it is in the northern continent or in Europe, though they are generally proficient, and frequently excel in musical accomplishments. They are perhaps no worse than the women of other lands in their love of gossiping and scandal, and, accustomed to flattery from their earliest years, and with interests narrowed down to a limited range of subjects, it is little wonder that they are incapable of conversing long or interestedly upon any topic save love, and that when it gives out they should fall back upon scandal. They weary over books, and turn over the pages with but a languid interest, and to any exercise save dancing they are naturally averse. Their conversation is rather free and unrestrained, and they talk glibly of the secret lovers of their dearest friends. Their beauty is but skin deep and wears rather badly; their indolent habits cause them soon to assume a bulkiness of form quite inconsistent with grace or comeliness, and it is only their passionate devotion to dancing that prevents them from becoming positively unwieldy.

Ministers and Consuls from other republics abound at the receptions and balls, and the many fashions in whiskers, beards, and moustaches provoke much comment and many smiles. Merchants, shopkeepers, doctors, lawyers, concessioners, their wives and daughters, all jostle one another in the crush. The rooms get stiflingly hot as the evening wears on; the balcony outside is invitingly cool, and the quiet beauty of the night contrasts strongly with the noise and glitter of the saloons. Across the bay lie the undulating hills, all but lost in a translucent opal pall; the myriads of stars overhead shine with a glory that evokes ejaculations of admiration, the more brilliant of them are reflected with many a tremor in the placid sea beneath. Lights on distant boats bob up and down, while the murmur of the waves as they break gently on the shore makes a music that can be heard above the sound made of all human speech that floats out of the open doors from the salon.

At supper parties it is quite a usual thing for speeches proposing toasts to be made, and when once they are started there is no stopping the flow of oratory. They love long-worded speeches almost as much as the Brazilians, and will listen to themselves and others for hours, and it must be admitted that they have a ready if a simple wit on all occasions. I have heard a Panamanian after dinner make an impromptu speech, in which he felicitously described all the guests around the table, and if his incisive humour was at times a little grotesque and his satire biting, the subject of his jest was as delighted as the rest of his audience at his sallies.

On the last day of the old year I had an opportunity of seeing the Panamanians really enjoying and proving their capacity for entertaining themselves. A ball was given by one of the clubs on 31 December, and as their new president entered on his duties the moment the numerous clocks in the city should cease striking twelve, a fine occasion for a speech presented itself. All the company assembled in the ballroom about ten minutes before the dying year yielded up its last gasp of time. The ladies were seated on two long rows of chairs facing each other, while their attendant cavaliers stood immediately behind them. Each held a brimming glass, awaiting patiently till the time should arrive for the toast. At the last stroke of midnight the new president of the club stepped forward and addressed the assembly. As he went on speaking eloquently of the high honour of the office to which he had been elected, the duties of which he was now entering upon, expatiating on the dignity of the position and the halo it spread round the holder, it seemed probable that all the spirit, as well as the sparkle, would evaporate from the generous wine before any of the guests would have a chance of capturing it. When at last he made an end, after having been actively engaged upon his new duties for full half an hour, all raised their glasses and drank, not New Year’s wishes to one another, but to the success of the club and the health of its new president.

Dancing was resumed when the glasses had been drained and wishes exchanged for prosperity and happiness during the coming year, but it was not until a late or, rather, early hour and after all the ladies had been served with supper that the men settled down to the enjoyment of a long-deferred repast. Bottle after bottle was emptied, and each one round the festive table made a gallant effort to vie with his neighbour in inventing some new toast. Every nationality represented at the board was the recipient of lengthy adulation, and if the good feeling voiced by all present could only be extended to the courts and Governments of the world, little business would be left for Peace Congresses to transact.

The whole of the first of January was devoted to a round of festivities, and the powers of endurance displayed by many were amazing.

Hard or even moderate drinking is said to be a dangerous habit in hot countries, and the medical profession is almost unanimous in condemning the use of alcohol, whilst the old theory that it is a necessity in hot climates has been exploded by scientific investigation, for the enlarged liver which is so common in the torrid zone is no doubt contributed to by the alcoholic habit.