Among the Mexicans of our company, however, it may not be improper to remark, that etiquette in the disposition of their food was but little observed; and knives and forks were unceremoniously thrown aside for the more primitive utensils with which nature had provided them. The 23d of December was the festival of St. Christoval. It was made, like all the saints’ days in Catholic countries, a gala-day. Measures were taken accordingly, a week previous, to give to this festival its full effect. In front of the church is a large square, around the sides of which were placed poles and staging, forming an amphitheatre, adorned with rude paintings of various animals, and dressed off with flags and evergreens; the area of which was to be the scene of a modern _bull-fight_. The morning was ushered in by the firing of guns and squibs. The stores were closed, churches opened, bells ringing, and the population was literally emptied into the streets. At twelve o’clock signal rockets were fired, and the gates of the amphitheatre, which appeared to be the principal point of attraction, were thrown open, and a bull was led in by four Indians. Indians, mounted on horses, attacked him with spears, whilst others goaded him almost to madness with barbed sticks. A great noise was made with drums and horns, and by the acclamations of the audience, composed of ladies and gentlemen of Merida and its vicinity. The major part, however, of the assembly was composed of Indians. This portion of the festival was continued during the day; at the close of which the amphitheatre was deserted, and the neighboring houses were filled with people, abandoning themselves to the excitements of every variety of games, and to the dance. This was the first bull-bait I had ever witnessed, and the impression it left upon me I shall never forget. These spectacles, however, have been so often and so graphically described by others, that it would be almost presumption in me to attempt a description of the scene, or an analysis of my own feelings. The performance disgusted me to a degree, and has struck me as one of the most extraordinary psychological phenomena in nature, that any body of human beings could be found to whom such exhibitions should be, as they are to the Spanish, sources of the deepest interest and excitement.