100 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



The sun was beaming with intense heat, and the 

 village was as still as if some great calamity had sud- 

 denly overtaken it. At length a group was seen 

 crossing the plaza : a vaquero escorting a Mestiza 

 to the ball, holding over her head a red silk umbrel- 

 la to protect her from the scorching rays of the sun ; 

 then an old lady and gentleman, children, and ser- 

 vants, a complete family group, the females all in 

 white, with bright-coloured scarfs and shawls. Oth- 

 er groups appeared crossing in other directions, form- 

 ing picturesque and pleasing spectacles in the plaza. 

 I walked over to the arbour. Although in broad 

 daylight, under the glare of a midday sun, and sha- 

 ded only on one side by hemp bagging, as the Mesti- 

 zas took their seats they seemed prettier than the 

 night before. No adjustment of curtain light was 

 necessary for the morning after the ball, for the ladies 

 had retired at an early hour. The black hat had 

 lost its repugnant character, and on some it seemed 

 most becoming. The costumes of the vaqueros, too, 

 bore well the light of day. The place was open to 

 all who chose to enter, and the floor was covered 

 with Indian women and children, and real Mesti- 

 zoes in cotton shirts, drawers, and sandals ; the bar- 

 rier, too, was lined with a dense mass of Indians 

 and Mestizoes, looking on good-humouredly at this 

 personification of themselves and their ways. The 

 whole gathering was more informal and gayer, and 

 seemed more what it was intended to be, a fiesta of 

 the village. 



