The Indians and Mestizos here still hold on to some of the old customs and amusements of their forefathers, upon which they pride themselves. Among the latter, that of dancing appears to be most popular in Valladolid, and usually takes place every fair evening, during the festivals, in or near one of the squares. Around the place designated for the entertainment, as I frequently observed, were placed benches for the dancing-girls, who arrange themselves in a row, separated from the crowd. They are chosen in regular rotation, and led out to dance. Their toilet was of the olden time, but it set off their plain features and low stature to good advantage. Their head-gear was a black silk hat, of the style usually worn by gentlemen, with gold and silver bands, intermixed with roses and long plumes of feathers; and their rich black hair, neatly braided, hung down the back, and almost swept the ground. The dress consisted of a loose white garment, suspended gracefully from the shoulders, ornamented at the top and bottom with various colored needlework, and white silk stockings and shoes—the whole beautiful and chaste. They danced with much skill and taste. The men wore shirts and trousers made of calico, with sash and blanket. The latter article is thrown over the shoulder, and carried with a grace which one looks for in vain out of Mexico. The sight was altogether enchanting; and I imagined for the moment that I beheld before me the royal abundance and Indian simplicity of the court of Montezuma. The three days of masquerade before lent, (Ash-Wednesday,) commenced on Sunday, the sixth of February. The riband, or pole dance, among the masqueraders, excited the most attention. A pole, about twenty feet long, was raised perpendicularly, from the top of which were fastened fifteen or twenty pieces of wide, variously-colored ribands. Each dancer, laying hold of a piece and extending it, formed a wide circle around the pole. The dancing commenced at a given signal, all joining. They crossed each other with the greatest precision, and in such order as to form a beautiful lattice or network with the ribands, until they were wound up. The figure then suddenly changes, and the ribands, by a reverse movement, are unwound. This they continue until they are tired. The evenings of the three days were finished by balls at the house of some one of the citizens, where the most respectable part of the population was to be seen.