I lay me down to sleep.”
Most of these Argentine children are rather solemn-faced in the presence of strangers. They are not quite so free to make up with some one unknown to them as the average American child, and it is often rather difficult to coax a smile. One can even casually pinch a little cheek without provoking the smile so free with American children. It is not fear, for they do not seem afraid, but there is a certain shyness which is very noticeable. They will look up at you with their big, black eyes, but the smile which should accompany it is not forthcoming. Especially is this true of little girls, who thus early in life seem to realize the narrowness of their lives.
It has always seemed to me sad to contemplate a girl’s life in these Latin lands. No sooner has one crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico than the restrictions upon a woman’s freedom become evident, and these same customs extend clear to the “Land of Fire,” at the southernmost limits of South America. Not only are the little girls held in a species of bondage, but in later years they miss that care-free, happy period of American girls in their early “teens,” when every one considers it a privilege and pleasure to contribute to their enjoyment. They are hemmed about by servants and duennas during these years, and they then suddenly emerge into young womanhood, almost before one realizes that they are more than little girls. One year they are niñas (which means little girls), and a year or two later they are señoritas, or young ladies. They have almost skipped that delightful age of being “just girls,” which the Spaniards term muchachas.
If there is one feature about them that is especially beautiful it is the eyes. Large, dark and radiant orbs are almost universal, and especially is that true in childhood. They very early begin the use of powder and paste, and oftentimes of rouge and the black pencil. It is a shame, for youth does not need these artificial aids and the evil effects are seen in the complexions of those of maturer years. This beauty of youth is more evanescent than with American girls, and the girl of even twenty has oftentimes begun to fade, and at thirty she is decidedly matronly in appearance.
Love and religion are the only two things that a Spanish woman should concern herself about, according to the theory of that land, and the same sentiment permeates even the childish amusements. Love and lovers run through all the childish rhymes of the children of Spanish-America. But more frequently it is religion. To begin with, their very names all have some religious significance. Mary is a very common name, but to it is added one of the attributes of the Virgin, such as Mary of the Sorrows, Tears, Annunciation, etc. Thus smiling little Dolores (sorrows), Lagrimas (tears) and the other little Marys bear these sad names, but their smiles come just as easy as if their names signified joys. Saints are appealed to in many of their childish amusements. “Jesus” and “Mary Most Pure” are common forms of exclamation for the tiniest of tots, and their conversation is punctuated with these sacred terms in the most innocent way imaginable. They are used just as American tots would say “oh, my,” or “good gracious.”
CHAPTER X
THE PEOPLE AT PLAY
S-p-o-r-t is the word you will find at the head of the sporting columns of the Spanish, as well as English newspapers, in Argentina. This word has been transferred over bodily, as no term in Spanish exactly expressed the meaning of the English word sport. Baseball has not yet become popular and cricket is little understood by the Argentinians, but they are passionately fond of the turf, and horse racing is perhaps the favourite sport of all classes. It is not the excitement of the racing alone that appeals to the Argentinian, but the opportunity it gives for indulging in his love of betting. Argentina possesses some of the finest horse flesh in the world, and sales of favourites oftentimes take place at almost fabulous prices.
Sixty millions is a tidy little sum to be placed upon horses in one year. And yet that is the amount staked upon the races in the city of Buenos Aires last year, according to the municipal statistics of that city. Estimating the population at one million, two hundred thousand, this is an average of fifty Argentine dollars for each man, woman and child in that great city. Naturally the reported figures do not include all the money that is wagered on the horse racing, so that it is impossible to give the total amount of the bets, but it was undoubtedly several million dollars in addition to the above sum. Reducing the figures to American money, the wagers would represent twenty-five million, eight hundred thousand dollars in gold coin with the American eagle stamped on the back.