602 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



masters, and instructors, sent out 

 from Old Spain, wliich contains 

 upwards of three thousand stu- 

 dents, sent from all parts of Mexi- 

 co, Peru, and the other Spanish 

 settlements. It has eleven hospi- 

 tals and houses of asylum, all 

 most amply and richly endowed ; 

 amongst the rest is an asylum for 

 the reception of young female or- 

 phans, who are maintained and 

 educated in a very decent and 

 handsome manner, whilst they re- 

 main therein unmarried ; and they 

 have five hundred dollars each, 

 given to them as a portion, when 

 they leave this asylum, and marry 

 to a decent proper person, ap- 

 proved of by the managers. 



There is a beautiful park, well 

 planted with trees,and ornamented 

 with fountains and water-works, 

 where the nobility, gentry, and 

 gay part of the inhabitants as- 

 semble every evening, some in 

 coaches, great numbers of gentle- 

 men on horseback, with multi- 

 tudes of men and women on foot ; 

 and it is here, that the young 

 bucks, cavaliers, and majos endea- 

 vour to attract the notice and fa- 

 vour of the ladies, by feats of 

 activity, and the superb fancy 

 dresses, in which they make their 

 appearance, when mounted on 

 their lively and beautiful horses. 

 Several hundredsofcoaches,drawn 

 by two or by four mules or horses, 

 parade here every fine evening, 

 attended by numerous retinues of 

 black slaves, dressed out in the 

 richest liveries, and in which they 

 keep up great state and form ; the 

 carriages move very slowly and 

 gently along, in order that those 

 within them may see and be seen 

 the better. The ladies within the 

 carriages make their appearance 



without veils, in their richest 

 dresses, decorated out, and orna- 

 mented with gold, pearls, jewels, 

 diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and 

 other glittering ornaments in their 

 hair, ears, round their necks, and 

 round their wrists, with superb 

 gold watches and equipages, fitted 

 up in the highest style. They 

 take great pride in having fine 

 heads of hair, which they preserve 

 with the greatest care and atten- 

 tion, in order to make it very 

 thick and very long behind ; 

 they wear it plaited down their 

 backs, and in general so long, even 

 when pendant, it reaches down to 

 their feet. They wear no caps, 

 but in their tertulias, or visits, 

 theyhave ornamental head-dresses. 

 Tiie Mexican ladies, in general, 

 are about the middle stature, very 

 few of them are tall ; the greatest 

 part of them have beautiful black 

 hair, fine eyes, and the most re- 

 gular sets of teeth, remarkably 

 white and even, which they take 

 great pleasure in shewing when 

 they laugh ; they are remarkably 

 lively in their manner and address, 

 talk a great deal, dance remark- 

 ably well, enter a room in the 

 most graceful manner, and no 

 women whatever, in any country 

 in the world, not even those of 

 Cadiz, walk better. They are 

 fond of music, singing, and danc- 

 ing; the Spanish guitar, in parti- 

 cular, is universally played by 

 them. Their favourite dances are 

 el fandango, which is as much the 

 rage here as in Old Spain ; the 

 young, the old, the brisk, the 

 grave, the gay, nay, even the 

 most stupid and dull people, be- 

 come all alive, and put themselves 

 into motion the very moment the 

 guitar strikes up and begins to 



