Respecting _fandangos_, I will observe that this term, as it is used in New Mexico, is never applied to any particular dance, but is the usual designation for those ordinary assemblies where dancing and frolicking are carried on; _baile_ (or ball) being generally applied to those of a higher grade. The former especially are very frequent; for nothing is more [Pg036] general, throughout the country, and with all classes than dancing. From the gravest priest to the buffoon--from the richest nabob to the beggar--from the governor to the ranchero--from the soberest matron to the flippant belle--from the grandest _señora_ to the _cocinera_--all partake of this exhilarating {243} amusement. To judge from the quantity of tuned instruments which salute the ear almost every night in the week, one would suppose that a perpetual carnival prevailed everywhere. The musical instruments used at the _bailes_ and _fandangos_ are usually the fiddle and _bandolin_, or _guitarra_, accompanied in some villages by the _tombé_ or little Indian drum. The musicians occasionally acquire considerable proficiency in the use of these instruments. But what most oddly greets, and really outrages most Protestant ears, is the accompaniment of divine service with the very same instruments, and often with the same tunes. Of all the petty vices practised by the New Mexicans, the _vicio inocente_ of smoking among ladies, is the most intolerable; and yet it is a habit of which the loveliest and the most refined equally partake. The _puro_ or _cigarro_[10] is seen in the mouths of all: it is handed round in the parlor, and introduced at the dinner table--even in the ball-room it is presented to ladies as regularly as any {244} other species of 'refreshment;' and in the dance the señorita may often be seen whirling round with a lighted _cigarrito_ in her mouth. The belles of the Southern cities are very frequently furnished [Pg037] with _tenazitas de oro_ (little golden tongs), to hold the cigar with, so as to prevent their delicate fingers from being polluted either with the stain or scent of tobacco; forgetting at the same time its disagreeable effects upon the lips and breath. Notwithstanding their numerous vices, however, I should do the New Mexicans the justice to say that they are but little addicted to inebriety and its attendant dissipations. Yet this doubtlessly results to a considerable degree from the dearness of spirituous liquors, which virtually places them beyond the reach of the lower classes. FOOTNOTES: [1] Chapter xii of volume i of the original edition.--ED.