The hat or
cap has afterwards to be redeemed by some present, and this usually is
in money. Not dancing ourselves, we were favoured with numerous special
exhibitions of this kind, the cost of each of which was _un peso_. With
a long journey before us, and with purses in a nearly collapsed
condition, the drafts upon us became so frequent, that at an early
hour, under a plea of fatigue and want of rest, we thought it prudent
to beat a retreat, leaving our fair and partial _fandangueras_ to
bestow their favours upon others better able to bear them. The motions
of the Californian females of all classes in the dance are highly
graceful. The waltz is their favourite measure, and in this they appear
to excel as much as the men do in horsemanship. During the progress of
the dance, the males and females improvise doggerel rhymes
complimentary of the personal beauties and graces of those whom they
admire, or expressive of their love and devotion, which are chanted
with the music of the instruments, and the whole company join in the
general chorus at the end of each verse. The din of voices is sometimes
almost deafening.
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