42 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



wore a picturesque costume of white, with a red bor- 

 der around the neck and skirt, and of that extraor- 

 dinary cleanness which I had remarked as the char- 

 acteristic of the poorest in Merida. For an hour, 

 one continued stream of calesas, with ladies, and 

 Mestizas, and Indian women, passed us without any 

 noise, or confusion, or tumult, but in all there was such 

 an air of quiet enjoyment that we felt sad as night 

 came on ; and, as the sun sank behind the ruins of 

 the castilloj we thought that there were few places 

 in the world where it went down upon a prettier or 

 happier scene. 



The crowning ceremonies of the fiesta were a dis- 

 play of fireworks in the square of the church, follow- 

 ed by a concert and ball. The former was for the 

 people, the latter for a select few. This, by-the-way, 

 could hardly be considered very select, as, upon the 

 application of our landlady, all our household receiv- 

 ed tickets. 



The entertainment was given by an association of 

 young men called La Sociedad Fhilharmonica. It 

 was the second of a series proposed to be given on 

 alternate Sundays, and already those who look cold- 

 ly upon the efforts of enterprising young men were 

 predicting that it would not hold out long, which 

 prediction was unfortunately verified. It was given 

 in a house situated on a street running off from the 

 Plaza, one of the few in the city that had two sto- 

 ries, and which would be considered respectable 

 among what are called palazzos in Italy. The en- 



♦ 



