e gaze of thousands, they
had no boldness of manner or appearance, but, on the contrary, an air
of modesty and simplicity, and all had a mild and gentle expression.
Indeed, as they rode alone and unattended through the great mass of
pedestrians, it seemed as if their very gentleness was a protection and
shield from insult. We sat down on one of the stone benches in the
Alameda, with the young, and gay, and beautiful of Merida. Strangers
had not been there to laugh at and break up their good old customs. It
was a little nook almost unknown to the rest of the world, and
independent of it, enjoying what is so rarely found in this equalizing
age, a sort of primitive or Knickerbocker state. The great charm was
the air of contentment that reigned over the whole. If the young ladies
in the calesas had occupied the most brilliant equipages in Hyde Park,
they could not have seemed happier; and in their way, not less
attractive were the great crowds of Mestizas and Indian women, some of
the former being extremely pretty, and all having the same mild and
gentle expression; they wore a picturesque costume of white, with a red
border around the neck and skirt, and of that extraordinary cleanness
which I had remarked as the characteristic 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
castillo, 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 display of fireworks in
the square of the church, followed 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 received tickets.

The entertainment was given by an association of young men called _La
Sociedad Philharmonica_. It was the second of a series proposed to be
given on alternate Sundays, and already those who look coldly 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 stories, and which woul