108 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



servants in showy liveries, parade the streets, 

 and almedas, or public walks, particularly on 

 Sundays and holy days; but the promenade 

 is not worthy of so fine a city, and loses 

 much of its interest in the eyes of Europeans 

 by the almost total absence of females, ex- 

 cepting such as are in carriages ; indeed, it 

 is only in processions, and in going to and 

 from church, that the higher order of women 

 are to be seen in the streets, — which, on the 

 former occasion, are crowded to excess by all 

 ranks. Temporary seats and elevated stand- 

 ing places are let for money, and though 

 these showy and imposing ceremonies are by 

 no means unfrequent, yet their interest and 

 attraction remain unabated. 



Intelligence was now received that the 

 Emperor had resigned the government into 

 the hands of the republicans, and we left the 

 city for Mexico in a coach, drawn by eight 



