MEXICAN BRIDE. 



223 



ment ; the bride being dressed up in gaudy- 

 coloured cottons, with immense ear-rings, and a 

 profusion of showy artificial flowers in her hair. 

 She sat with her arms folded, and with a look of 

 determined gravity, or rather, as it appeared, of 

 sulkiness, that promised no comfortable life to 

 the husband. But I learned afterwards, that it 

 was an essential part of the etiquette, upon these 

 occasions, for the bride to be uniformly grave, si- 

 lent, and seemingly abashed and frightened ; that 

 a smile from her would be considered the height 

 of indecorum ; and a cheerful speech, even to wel- 

 come a guest, the most inexcusable indelicacy. 



No one sat at dinner besides our party, except 

 the bride and her mother, and one of her aunts. 

 The bridegroom would also have sat down with 

 us had there been room ; but as there was not, he 

 placed himself at a small side-table along with his 

 father. When we had done dinner, we rose to 

 make room for the second set, consisting of the 

 friends of the Novios ; after which a feast was 

 spread on the grass outside, for all who chose to 

 partake of the good cheer. The object of the 

 first dinner was to prove that the family were re- 



