The ladies seemed to
possess a livelier disposition and emerged from their houses to
gossip and gather news. They viewed me with the greatest interest and
curiosity and, shifting the mantillas, or rebozos, behind which they
hid their faces after the Moorish fashion, they gazed at me with
shining eyes. And I believe that I found favor with many, for they
would exclaim, "M'ira que Americanito tan lindo, tan blanco!" (What a
handsome young American. See what beautiful blue eyes he has and what
a white complexion.) And mothers warned the maidens not to look at
me, as I might have the evil eye. I heard one lady tell her daughter,
"You may look at him just once, Dolores; oh, see how handsome he is!"
(Valga me, Dios, que lindo es, pobrecito!)And the way the young lady
gazed was a revelation to me. The fire of her limpid black eyes
struck me as a ray of glorious light. An indescribable thrill, never
before known, rose in my breast and she held me enthralled under a
spell which I had not the least desire to break. And they said that
it was I who had the evil eye! To say that these people were lacking
in the virtues and accomplishments of modern civilization entirely
would be a mistake very easily made indeed by strangers who, on
passing through their land, did not understand their language and
were unfamiliar with their social customs and mode of living.
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