Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/105

Rh exhibited in equipages, dresses, and ornaments.

It is strict etiquette for a respectable family, on taking-up their abode in the Mexican capital, to have cards printed announcing the fact, and representing their house as at the disposal of their friends. Until these cards are issued, visitors do not feel at liberty to call; and persons unaware of the custom, would be considered unpolite and unsociable, and treated accordingly. The following is the usual form of these apprisals:—

"Don Y. Z. (here follows the title), y su Esposa, Doña X. Y. Z —, participan á su Llegada a este Capital, y se afrecen á su disposición, en la calle de_____, No. ___."

"Don Y. Z, and his lady Doña X. Y. Z—, inform you of their arrival in this capital, and offer themselves to your service, in the street of____, No. —."

The manners of the Mexican gentry to their domestics are despotically overbearing and tyrannical. The servants of both sexes are usually selected from the despised castes of society—the poorer Mestizoes, Indians, and Zamboes; and they are consequently treated almost like born or purchased slaves. Cuffs