Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1885 — “Blue Blood.” [ARTICLE]

“Blue Blood.”

The tei;,m blue blood, from the Spanish phrase sangre azpl, is much used without a very clear idea of its signification, Its real meaning is—not that the blood itself is blue (excepting that all venous blood has a bluish tinge)— but that the person or class to whom the term is applied have skins so white and transparent that the veins show blue through them, and this is taken as a certain indication that the class or persons thus designated are without an admixture of races. Any one who has traveled in Spanish-American countries, or in Spain, where the term originated, would see at once its applicability. The descendants~ of the Gothic conquerors of Spain retain to this day the characteristics of their ancestors—the white, transparent skin, blue eyes, and auburn or tawny hair, and their veins show blue through their cuticle; but in case of an admixture of African or Moorish blood, the blue blood (veins) gradually disappear, until in case of a great preponderance of the latter races the veins show merely as ridges. Tourists in Mexico will notice this peculiarity in all Mexican cities, as well as in the haciendas throughout the country, on account of the great admixture of Indian (Aztec, Toltec, and Tlascalan) blood in the population, and everywhere they will find that the people whose veins show blue through the skin are the ruling class.—■ Letter in Boston Transcript.