GUAYAQUILENAS. 



109 



taken place, and then touching the floor with their 

 feet, swung off again without any interruption to 

 the conversation. 



We had often heard before of the fair com- 

 plexion of the Guayaquilenas, but had fancied it 

 was merely comparative. To our surprise, there- 

 fore, we found these ladies quite as fair and clear 

 in complexion as any Europeans: unlike the Span- 

 iards also, their eyes were blue, and their hair of 

 a light colour. The whole party maintained the 

 character for pre-eminence in beauty, for which 

 Guayaquil is celebrated in all parts of South 

 America : even the venerable grandmother pre- 

 served her looks in a degree rarely met with be- 

 tween the tropics. This is the more remarkable, 

 as Guayaquil lies within little more than two de- 

 grees south of the Equator : and being on a level 

 with the sea, is during the whole year excessively 

 hot. Some people ascribe the fairness of the wo- 

 men, and the wonderful permanence of their good 

 looks, to the moisture of the air ; the city having 

 on one side a great marsh, and on the other a 

 large river ; while the country, for nearly a hun- 

 dred miles, is a continued level swamp, thickly 



