Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/49

Rh A lépero at no great distance is pretending to purchase a cuchillo, or knife from a dealer in such articles. See how he turns it over weighs it on his hand, measures it with his fingers breathes upon it, and tries its strength. He must surely want it for some particular purpose; perhaps he is about to meet a worthy comrade in a hostile encounter, and would like to have the advantage in his weapon. But while the rascal appears to be deliberating about the knife, he is in reality robbing a pannier on the shoulders of an ass behind him, and stealthily conveying his plunder beneath the folds of his serapé; while the proprietor of the ass and panniers, is bargaining for the sale of his fast-decreasing stock—ass and panniers included.

The theatres, at these times, are largely attended; not merely those of the better sort, where plays of European origin are performed, but others, differing in their pretensions; from the red, blue, and green painted edifice that graces an obscure street, to the temporary sheds that are constructed in a hasty manner behind houses and in court-yards especially for the occasion. The one behind us is of the latter kind. The players strut affectedly upon