At the close of the repast the King, Queen and other royalties rose and passed down the room, bowing right and left. The Crown Princess then rose, and, stopping at each table, smilingly bade her guests good-night. Guided by Fraulein von Boyen and the ladies-in-waiting we then returned to the _Salle de Musique_, where, superintending the donning of our wraps and being sure that our attendant footmen were on hand, they received our adieux. By half-past seven we were back at home, having enjoyed an entertainment which, though formal and ceremonious, punctilious etiquette being observed, was free from stiffness or constraint and devoid of anything that could offend republican pride. Though the marks setting apart those of royal blood were unmistakable, what refined courtesy, what kindly grace characterized their intercourse with their unroyal associates! There were no suggestions of the _nouveaux riches_ or parvenue autocrats, everything betokening generations of culture and refinement, ancestral dignity, inherited power and withal a simplicity and modesty characteristic of self-respecting superiority. The costumes of the Queen and Princesses were elegant and tasteful, their superb satins, velvets, brocades, their sparkling jewels, becoming them as the appropriate setting of rare gems. And those brave, lordly men! so chivalric and gentle, so noble and courteous. How appropriate seemed their orders and decorations. Truly the bravest are the tenderest! THE ALCALDE’S DAUGHTER AND HER CHRISTMAS LAMP [Illustration] Long years ago, while the Mexican standard still waved over the Alamo, San Antonio de Bexar, the most flourishing Catholic Mission east of the Rio Grande, rejoiced in an Alcalde as famous for wisdom and virtue as for piety and goodness. Successful in his public enterprises, he was equally fortunate in his private relations, having a beautiful wife, an inviting home, and a brood of stalwart sons. That they had no daughter was much regretted by both, Donna Inez saying: “Boys serve to perpetuate the name and uphold the family honor, but it is the girls who, lifting the domestic burden from the mothers’ shoulders, and cheering, comforting the fathers, bless and brighten home,” and, when in answer to repeated _Novenas_ of prayer and votive offerings, a daughter was born to them, they, naming her Maria Jesusa Pepita, gratefully dedicated her to the Virgin. Growing in beauty and grace and developing many lovable traits, Jesusa more than fulfilled parental hopes. Humoring, petting her father, preparing his _pulque_, filling his pipe, she became his daily companion and the idol of his heart.