Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/87

Rh its dignity was marred by the ragged appearance of the crown which had started up from the other parts from the effect of some cruel crush it had received: the scarlet handkerchief beneath it too would have looked attractive, only that it partially hung in shreds down to his waist behind. His finely embroidered shirt was wofully stained and bespattered with mud and liquor; stray tufts of straw were visible from the pockets of his smart round jacket; the bells which usually added such a charming finish to his lower garments were, for the most part, flattened or incomplete; and his spurs!—Holy Virgin! were it possible to arouse and sober him by any earthly consideration, it would have been the soiled state in which his spurs—those jewels of his heart—were to be seen at that moment!

The chief points of his discourse appeared to relate to those subjects of his patronage—his employers. No words can adequately depict the oracular majesty of his speech, or the braggadocio of his manner, as he delivered himself of his opinions.

"The Señor and Señora who employed him," he said, "were utterly unworthy of his services: they were no better than himself;