In youth, however, their natural elasticity of character prevents delicate girls getting sick, if moderate care be taken of them, and they are generally rather more slender figures than English girls, until reaching about twenty-five, when they begin to get fat or to become thin; at that age they look very matronly.
Apropos des dames. Even in these degenerate days, Spanish blood is as hot and Castilian gentlemen are as gallant as any of those of former times. Not long ago the following circumstance happened at the casino:—Don Camilo de T——, a natural son of the late King of Spain, after dancing with a female acquaintance, rejoined a group of acquaintances, who were standing together in a knot, criticising the appearance of their several fair friends, when just as he joined them some one happened to say to another that the lady he had just been dancing with appeared to have padded her bosom. On hearing this, Don Camilo took the speaker rather by surprise, by calling out “It is a lie,” in a tone loud enough to be heard by all near him, and by saying that as he had just been dancing with that lady, he knew that it was not so, and must resent the remark as a personal affront. A duel took place in consequence, in which the gallant was wounded in the sword arm, which, by letting out a little of his hot blood, may probably prevent a recurrence of such extreme devotion to his fair acquaintances.
CHAPTER XI.
As a body, such Spanish gentlemen as I have been acquainted with, appeared to be quite as remarkable for good breeding as they usually have the credit of being. They generally have a great appearance of candour or frankness of manner, which, although it is for the most part more studied than natural, is prepossessing, and makes them pleasant companions.
Here, however, I am afraid my praise must stop, because I have seen among a great number of them a good deal of dissimulation, or, to speak more plainly, of bad faith,—with regard to which their modes of thinking are very different from those prevailing at home; and among their mercantile people especially, they often appear to imitate, or unconsciously to act upon a smart Yankee trader’s modes of getting the best of a bargain, being very frequently rather too unscrupulous in their representations, when it appears to them that it is for their interest to be so.
To give an idea of their opinions about the subject of buying and selling, I will tell the reader a story. A lad, the son of a high government officer, sold an unsound horse to a companion as a sound one, which, on being discovered by the purchaser, of course made him very indignant, and he demanded his money back, complaining at the same time to the boy’s father, who passes for a person of high character and good sense, about the scurvy trick his son had played him. “Well,” said this respectable old gentleman, “I am glad to see that the lad is so sharp; for, if he could get the better of you so well, he will make a capital merchant, and be able to cheat the Chinamen!”
Without exaggeration this is a good deal the system on which the Spaniards carry on business. They always appear to be trying to take advantage of a purchaser, and if successful have very complaisant consciences; but should they themselves be taken in, or have the worst of a bargain, their virtuous horror and indignation on discovering it know no bounds. There is very little, or almost none, of that mutual confidence existing between them which exists between British merchants, and which is so necessary in large transactions, or in carrying on an extensive business, as they do.
The large number of government empleados residing at Manilla makes an important addition to the society of the place, as, from being idle men to a great extent, they seek how to amuse and be amused, and are cultivators of the society of the English, whose dinner tables are probably the chief causes of the intercourse which exists between them.
The entire white population in Manilla amounts to about 5,000, a large proportion of them being officers, sergeants, and corporals of the troops stationed either within the town, or in the immediate vicinity.
All the officers are not, however, persons of European descent, as occasionally a black may be seen in an officer’s uniform, and very frequently is to be found wearing a sergeant’s or corporal’s coat. But the natives promoted to the rank of commissioned officers are not many, and on the whole it is probably better for the army that few of them should be so, as were it a common occurrence, or were they allowed to rise to high rank, or to occupy important places, beyond a doubt the morale of the troops would suffer; for when those men do rise from the ranks, they are not considered on an equality by their European brother officers, nor in fact do they consider themselves to be so, and have little or no intercourse with them, beyond the routine of their military duties.