90 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



tail of the one to the neck of the other, in succession, with a 

 space of about ten feet between them. 



The costume of gentlemen, when attending to business, ge- 

 nerally consists of a short jacket of white or blue cloth, ac- 

 cording to the season, and a felt, or straw hat, of Manila or 

 Guayaquil manufacture, not differing, in other respects, from 

 that of the United States. The young men of fortune follow 

 the fashions given to them by French or English tailors. 



The dress of the ladies, when walking, is the same as that 

 termed in the United States an evening dress. They wear 

 neither hats nor bonnets, but instead, ornament the hair, which 

 they know how to arrange in excellent taste, with two or 

 three natural flowers. The parasol affords protection to their 

 complexion, when it requires any, for they seldom walk till 

 the sun has in a degree lost his power. When they go to 

 church — which they do every morning at sunrise — they dress 

 in black, with a veil or mantilla over the head. 



Reader, be kind enough to picture to yourself a busy crowd, 

 composed of the various figures I have attempted to sketch ; 

 moving through a narrow street in different directions. The 

 <*aguad6r" threading along among troops of mules and carts 5 

 merchants discussing the quality and price of goods ; their 

 clerks hurrying to and from the custom-house ; the "guaso'^ 

 or countryman, with hat, poncho, betas, and spurs, seated in 

 his comfortable saddle, with toes thrust into the sides of huge 

 blocks of wood, that answ^er the place of stirrups, guiding his 

 docile animal ; ladies in their walking dress, with parasol, and 

 followed by little Indian servants, from Arauco ; the "dul- 

 cero,'^ or vender of sweetmeats, crying dulces ^'merca- 

 chifles," or pedlars, with loads of ribbons and trifles, praising 

 in stentorian voices the cheapness of their goods ; sailors, riding 

 horses that might be taken for the descendants of the famed 

 *'Rocinante,"* pushing and spurring on in spite of all obstacles. 



* This word is in perfect keeping with the whole of that inimitable work of 

 Cervantes, Don Quixote ; it is derived from rodn, which signifies a hack horse, 

 and antCy before or formerly. 



