Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/62

38 now relinquished: last night, when heated with wine, he staked his whole worldly wealth upon a cast of the dice, and lost it; and he has now sold his only remaining treasure in desperate haste, hoping to recover his losses. Soon his comrades will fleece him of this paltry sum, as they have of every other:—then death, either by the dagger or the stream, poison or bullet, will be his portion; and the consequences of his fatal sport will have to be played out through the endless years of eternity.

A stately lady in mantilla and splendid costume has just entered the room, accompanied by an attendant arrayed in a scarcely less elegant manner: she has come upon the usual errand. One of the ruling passions of a Mexican lady, is to appear in as magnificent a dress as possible at the theatre or opera, particularly on grand occasions; and the fortunes of their husbands are heavily taxed for the purchase of gold and silver ornaments, jewelled. wreaths, and precious stones. This lady happens to have a daughter who has just attained her fourteenth year—a mature age in this country, which entitles her to the privilege of being "brought out" splendidly in fashionable circles—and the managing mama has resolved that