Page:Our Sister Republic - Mexico.djvu/150

144 everywhere among the crowd which surged around the entrance and within the gates.

The roof above the grand corridor was covered with the soldiers of the garrison, and the State Guards in their picturesque uniforms, and the tiers of seats "in the sun and in the shade" presented a sea of heads, the common and poorer people fairly packing them. The corridor was fairly filled—many ladies being present—but I noticed that the more refined and educated portion of the community did not appear, generally, to be there. There were, at a rough estimate, at least three thousand people in the amphitheatre. The band, of about fifty pieces, struck up a grand march, and at the sound of the trumpet, the company came into the arena. They were twelve or fourteen in number. The two matadors, men of advanced age, stout and agile, were in ordinary vaqueros costume, with broad hats, mounted on poor horses, and carried their spears, with short, blunt ends, in their hands. The two matadores and their assistants were all dressed in the full, old Spanish costumes, brilliant with gold and scarlet, knee breeches and shoes, short jackets, and black jaunty caps.

Halting before the judges' box, the party sent two of their number up over the barriers and tiers of seats—as agile as cats they seemedto exhibit to them the banderillas, and ask their high permission for the fighting to commence, which was of course given.

In rushed from a side door, a tawny brown bull, with wide spreading horns, the points of which had already been sawed off about four inches, and, throwing his head high in the air, he gave one glance around the arena within, like a dog in play, and dashed at the nearest man with a red mantle. The mantle was whirled