Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/791

Rh unnecessary. Yet in the poorest households hospitality was extended to any one with a profusion and good-will that seemed religious in its universality.

The light-hearted disposition of the people was best manifested at their numerous and spirited festivities, connected principally with the church, but multiplied by holidays in honor of birthdays and other incidents pertaining to the royal family; on the occasion of good news, and on the birthday of the viceroy there was likewise rejoicing. Nearly all these were celebrated with processions, bell-ringing, bull-fights, balls, fireworks, and general merriment. On royal birthdays the ceremonies began with solemn mass, attended by the official bodies, and were followed by a public reception at the viceregal palace, where the hand of the ruler was kissed by the different bodies, in prescribed order of precedence. . Meanwhile artillery salvos resounded, and in the afternoon a promenade in coaches and on horseback was made by the leading personages in the alameda of Mexico.

This afternoon promenade was for that matter a daily feature, which gave the best opportunity for displays of toilets and wealth. Hundreds of the heavy springless coaches of the time, covered and embellished with profuse designs, then rolled slowly