Chapter X: Uruguayan Manners and Customs 128

The temperament of the Oriental--Some merits of the
race--The Spanish Main as treated in fiction--
Distinctions between the villains in print and in
actual life--Civility as a national trait--Courtesy of
officials--The Uruguayan as a sturdy democrat--A
land of equality--Some local mannerisms--Banquets
and general hospitality--Some practical methods of
enjoying life--Simplicity _versus_ ostentation--Some
consequences of prosperity--The cost of living--
Questions of ways and means--European education and
its results--Some evidences of national pride--The
physique of the Oriental--Sports and games--Football--
The science of bull-fighting--Eloquence and the
oratorical art--Uruguayan ladies--Local charm of
the sex--South American institutions--Methods by which
they have been improved--The advantages of experiments--
The Uruguayan army and navy--Some characteristics of the
police--Honesty of the nation--Politics and temperament.