Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/789

Rh bliss connected with courtship, for the opportunity was withheld, or spoiled by the congealing presence of a dueña; but then marriage took place so much earlier. According to Navarro the number of persons joined in matrimony before the age of sixteen was 16.27 in 1000, a proportion due chiefly to the climate, but also to food, and to interested encouragement from ecclesiastic and civil officers. The courtesy of the men and the affectionate disposition of the women tended toward a happy family relation, which was increased by the ever respectful obedience of the children, manifested by such acts as abstaining from smoking in the parental presence, and by the requirement of the parents' consent to the marriage of a son even when past the age of twenty-five.

This happy intercourse depended wholly on character; for no systematic or strict training was brought to bear upon the youthful mind, and few of the cherished comforts and conveniences of a northern home existed in this southern clime to strengthen the family bond, unless we seek it in such features as the shaded courts of the superior houses, cooled by playing fountains, and in the comparatively small number of attractions beyond their precincts. The apartments surrounding the court were poorly and deficiently furnished, more attention evidently being paid to carpets, pictures, and fancy articles for show than to useful things. The comparative abundance of table plate was due as much to the difficulty of introducing