The houses of Mexico are of a type unknown to the Anglo-Saxon American; the social customs, the aspects of the streets, the markets, the flower-market, the old, massive public buildings, the cotton-clad Indian folk in the _plazas_ side by side with beautifully dressed señoritas and correctly attired, grave and ceremonious men--statesmen, lawyers, doctors and men of many professions, the _serenatas_ or concerts in the _alamedas_, the lottery ticket vendors thrusting their flimsy wares into one's face, urging you to tempt fortune--for will not the wheel be turned in the public square in half an hour, and may you yourself not be the winner of the sorteo?--all these features catch the traveller's eye as in the genial sunshine, before the midday heat renders the shade of the _patio_ or veranda advisable, we observe the life of the Mexican city. In the market-place, at an early hour or in the evening, the odour of the _tortilla_ or the _frijoles_, fried in the open for ready sale, will greet our nostrils, and there are piquant _chiles_--a favourite article of diet--and many luscious and unknown fruits which we cannot resist. [Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL, CITY OF MEXICO. Vol. I. To face p. 114.] Under the shade trees in the plaza or the alameda, escorted by Indian maid-servant, or perhaps entering or leaving the temples, are sweet-faced girls of the upper class, pale oval-faced _señoritas_ with dark hair and expressive eyes, with the mantilla drawn over the head, bent on their early-morning orisons: but though their thoughts are at the moment doubtless dwelling upon matters spiritual, there are glances from expressive eyes-- Para que te miré, mujer divina? Para que contemplé tu faz hermosa? Sentiment and love, indeed, play a strong part in the temperament of this southern race, with all its reserve and seclusion. The foreigner in Mexico will thus find a varied local colour in the Mexican capital and in other cities throughout the Republic, such as could long occupy his pen, and indeed his brush, if he wield such. To come into actual touch with the people in their homes is more difficult, but if he is fortunate enough to be the guest in an upper class Mexican family, he will experience the most pleasing hospitality. To penetrate such circles, however, there must be the appropriate qualities and circumstances. In this peaceful city there are few signs of revolution, disorder or bloodshed. The walls here and there may be pitted with bullet-marks, but the things which caused them come and go, and the populace lives its life with merely passing notice of them.