Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/178

Rh hear it spoken or screamed out, by uneducated women. I visited a farm, one afternoon, where we found an assembly of ten or twelve women, belonging to the working-class, but not to the poorest. They were, the greater number of them, thin and very brown, and they screamed and made such a din, although it was all in kindness and cheerfulness, that it was almost deafening; one might have imagined oneself amid a flock of turkeys; and to all this noise was added a great deal of action, very energetic, but angular and quite devoid of grace. On the contrary, from the lips of educated and refined women, the Spanish language is the most beautiful music.

The beautiful cuculios are now my torment, as well as my delight, because, oh! they are stupid; and when they fold together their wings, they are the most awkward and helpless of all creatures. During their flight they strike themselves against anything that comes in their way, and then fall down, when they creep, or lie upon their backs as foolishly as our cock-chafers. They allow themselves to be caught with the greatest ease, and once caught they seem to forget that they have wings. The little negro children run after them crying, “''Cuccu! cuccu!''” catch them easily, and then torment them in many ways. And since the time when I purchased some of these poor, stupid creatures for a few galietas, to release them from the hands of their tormenters, dozens of these young negroes come crowding in the evening on the piazza, which lies on the same level with the great parlour, poke in their curly heads and stretch out their hands, with the brilliant insects in them, shouting “''Cuccu! cuccu!''” One is obliged to purchase some of them out of captivity, but all—a whole pocket full of galietas, would not suffice for that! If one makes any demonstration of driving the children away, off they fly like a flock of sparrows, with a loud cry of exultation, for they are full of fun; but they