Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/270

262 admission of both friend and foe it has discharged its duty faithfully, and the sick and afflicted of all classes have only to mention their particular complaints when they are at once assigned to their proper wards.

Equally numerous are the theatres and dance-houses, the largest of the former being the National,—Teatro Nacional,—in which are brought out many things interesting to American as well as Mexican. A defect in all Mexican theatres, and a very objectionable feature, is the custom of allowing the "prompter" to be not only seen, but heard. The perpetual buzz that precedes the actor's utterances is inexpressibly