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32 AVOYAGETO Book I, 



their arms at liberty ; and when the infants are hungry^ 

 they give them the bread either under the arm or over 

 the Ihoulder, without taking them from their backs. 

 This will perhaps appear incredible; but their breads, 

 being left to grow without any prelTure on them, often 

 hang down to their very waift, and are not therefore 

 difficult to turn over their fhoulders for the convenience 

 of the infant. 



The drefs of the Whites, both men and women, dif- 

 fers very little from that worn in Spain. The perfons 

 in grand employments wear the fame habits as in Eu- 

 rope ; but with this difference, that all their cloaths are 

 very light, the waiilcoats and breeches being of fine 

 Bretagne linen, and the coat of fome other thin ftufF. 

 Wigs are not much worn here ; and during our day, 

 the governor and two or three of the chief officers only 

 appeared in them. Neckcloths are alfo uncommon, 

 the neck of the fliirt being adorned with large gold but- 

 tons, and thefe generally fuffered to hang loofe. On 

 their heads they wear a cap of very fine and white linen. 

 Others go entirely bareheaded, having their hair cut 

 from the nape of the neck *. Fans are very commonly 

 worn by men, and made of a very thin kind of palm in 

 the form of a crefcent, having a dick of the fame wood 

 in the middle. Thofe who are not of the white clafs, 

 or of any eminent family, w^ar a cloak and a hat flap- 

 ped though fome Mulattos and Negroes drefs like the 

 Spaniards and great men of the country. 



The Spaniih women wear a kind of petticoat, which 

 they call poUera, made of a thin filk, without any lining-, 

 and on their body, a very thin white waidcoat •, but even 

 this is only worn in what they call winter, it being infup- 

 portable in fummer. They however always lace in 

 iuch a manner as to conceal their breads. When they 

 go abroad, they wear a mantelet-, and on the days of pre- 



* Here and in moft parts of South America they have their 

 haircut fo fhort, that a llranger would think every man had a wig, 

 but did not wear it on account of the heat. A. 



cept. 



1 



