FEMALES OF GUAYAQUIL.
{"newspaper_name": "The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware advertiser.", "edition": "01", "page": "p1", "byline": "From Capt. Halt's journal."}
{"character_count": 1847, "word_count": 317, "ccnet_language_score": [0.9847000241279602], "ccnet_perplexity": [1699.800048828125], "fasttext_language": ["en"]}
We were somewhat surprised, on enter
ing the first house, to observe the ladies IN
immense hammocks, made of net work of
strong grass, dyed of various colours, sus-
pended from the roof, which was twenty feet
high.


Some of them were sitting, others reclin-
inr in their hammocks, with their feet, or at
least one foot, hanging out, and so nearly
touching the floor, that, when they pleased,
they could reach it with the toe, and by gen
tie push, give motion to the hammock
This family consisted of no less than three
generations; the grandmother lying at full
length in a hammock suspended across one
corner Of the room; the mother seated in
another, swinging from side to side, and
three young ladies, her daughters, lounging
in one hammock attached to hooks along
the length Of the room. The whole party
were swinging away at such furious rate,
that at first we were confounded and made
riddv by the variety Of motions in different
directions--We succeeded, however, IN
making good our passage to sofa at the FUR
ther end of the room, though not without
apprehension of being knocked over by the
way. The ladies, seeing US embarrassed,
ceased their vibrations until the introductions
had taken place, and then, touching the floor
with their teet, swung off again, without any
interruption to the conversation.
We had often heard before of the fair
complexion of the Guayaquileans, but had
fancied it was merely comparative. To our
surprise, therefore, we found the ladies quite
as fair and clear in complexion, as any Eu-


ropean; unlike the Spaniards, also, their
eyes were blue, and their hair ofa light col


our.


The whole party maintained the charac-
ter for pre- -eminence in beauty for which Gu


ayquil is celebrated Even the venerable


grandmother preserved her looks in a de-


gree rarely to be met with between the tro-


pics.