Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/645

Rh public, as it were, with its attendant flirtation and languid indulgence, can hardly be commended. There is no wide theatrical field in the country, and in the capital the audience at the better theatres is composed mainly of a set; hence a frequent succession of novelties is required, which operates against good acting, and correct representations in dress and scenery. The prompter is constantly in demand, and this assists to reduce the performance too often to mere bad recitation. As in colonial times, the theatres have been subjected to an officially appointed body, to watch over plays and management, and to dispense the fund for public amusements, or the subsidies occasionally granted, especially for inducing celebrated singers from Europe to give a season of opera, which for that matter never failed to receive liberal patronage.

Bull and cock fighting are as much in vogue as ever, notwithstanding the efforts made at times to restrict or abolish the former sport at least. In the country, the people are reduced to a modified form of the excitement, in the form of colear, that is, to chase a bull in open field and throw it by a twist of the tail. It requires cool and skilful horsemanship, and the lasso is ever kept ready to save miscalculating coleador from the animal's fury. Lassoing is in itself exciting, and much practised by children on smaller animals, which fosters a taste for bloodier realities.

With the independence, restrictions on riding were abolished, and consequently the use of the horse increased more than ever among this indolent, impulsive people. Englishmen introduced regular horse-races, to which the gambling mania readily adapted itself. Owing to the rarefied air, long distances are not in