The "foreign" ladies, who were there in great numbers, generally
wore simple light prints or muslins, and white straw hats, and many
of them so far conformed to native custom as to wear natural flowers
round their hats and throats. But where were the hard, angular,
careworn, sallow, passionate faces of men and women, such as form
the majority of every crowd at home, as well as in America, and
Australia? The conditions of life must surely be easier here, and
people must have found rest from some of its burdensome
conventionalities. The foreign ladies, in their simple, tasteful,
fresh attire, innocent of the humpings and bunchings, the
monstrosities and deformities of ultra-fashionable bad taste, beamed
with cheerfulness, friendliness, and kindliness. Men and women
looked as easy, contented, and happy as if care never came near
them. I never saw such healthy, bright complexions as among the
women, or such "sparkling smiles," or such a diffusion of feminine
grace and graciousness anywhere.
Outside this motley, genial, picturesque crowd about 200 saddled
horses were standing, each with the Mexican saddle, with its
lassoing horn in front, high peak behind, immense wooden stirrups,
with great leathern guards, silver or brass bosses, and coloured
saddle-cloths.
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