Part 10 (1/2)
”I would rather wait till I hear what father says”
”That's all I ask, _a sure--”
She was interrupted by the pattering of feet upon the stone stairway; two pairs of the The heavy tread proclaimed them to be men Presently their faces showed over the baluster rail, and another step brought the thelided down out of the ers that had been despatched separately, though on errands so very si, they had ether Each having had orders to deliver his report, and without delay, was now acting in obedience to them
Two and two they stood upon the azotea,--the men, hat in hand, stood in front of their respective ht have heard what the servant of the other said; for on their part there was no wish or reason for concealentleman you sent me to inquire about is not in Tacubaya”
Almost a cry came from Luisa Valverde's lips, as with paled cheek, she said,--”You've not heard of him, then?” But the colour quickly returned at the answer,--”I have, Senorita; more, I have seen him”
”Seen Don Florencio! Where? Speak, quick, Jose!”
”In the Acordada!”
”In the Acordada!” in still another voice--that of the Condesa speaking in a sih it were an echo; for she, too, had just been told that her lover was in the saaol
”I saw him in a cell,precedence ”They had him coupled to another prisoner--a Tejano”
”He was in one of the cells, Senorita,” spoke Jose, also continuing his report, ”chained to a robber”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
POR LAS ZANCAS
In all cities there is a street favoured by fashi+on This in Mexico is the Calle de Plateros (street of the silversmiths), so called because there the workers in precious ate”
In this street the _jovenes dorados_ (gilded youth) ofpatent leather boots, canary-coloured kid gloves, cane in hand, and quizzing-glass to the eye
There, too, the senoras and senoritas go shopping bareheaded, with but the shawl thrown over the crown hood-fashi+on
When out only for pro in the street of the silversh it on their way to the _Alaarden, devoted to the public use, and tastefully laid out in walks, terraces, and parterres with flowers, and fountains; grand old evergreen trees overshadowing all For in that summery clime shade, not sun, is the desideratum Here the _jovenes dorados_ spent part of the afternoons sauntering along the arcaded walks, or seated around the great fountain watching the play of its crystal waters But with an eye to so the fans with a dexterity which speaks ofments of circles is intended to create currents of air and cool the heated skin Many a twist and turn, watched with anxious eyes, conveys intelligence interesting as words never spoken In Mexicocaused or alleviated, by the h the Calle de Plateros terate of the Alameda, the same line of street is continued half a mile further on, to the fashi+onable drive of the _Pasco Nuevo_, sometimes called Pasco de Buccareli, from the Viceroy who ruled New Spain when it was laid out
It is the Rotten Row of Mexico, for it is a ride as well as a drive; and at a certain hour of the afternoon a streas of horsees drawn, some of theuished few by large English or American ani to have a pair of ”_frisones_”
In the carriages, the senoras and senoritas are seen attired in their richest robes--full evening dress--bare-armed and bareheaded, their hair, usually black, ablaze with jewels or entwined with flowers fresh picked--the sweet-scented suchil, the white star-like jasside ride the cavaliers, in high-peaked, stu; each rider, to all appearance, requiring the full strength of his ar his spurs to render the anies the better he is pleased, provided the occupants of the carriages have their eyes on hi the week of _Guaresma_ (Lent), when capricious fashi+on takes hias_, on the opposite side of the city--can this brilliant procession be seenthe Calle de Plateros, and its continuation, the Calle de San Francisco
But in this sahfare one roups aught but gay Midway along the street runs a deep drain or sewer, not as in European cities pers renant sink than a drainage sewer; since from the city to the outside country there is scarce an inch of fall to carry off the sewage As a consequence it accu full, and with a stuff indescribable Every garbage goes there--all the refuse of household product is shot into them At periodical intervals they are cleared out, else the city would soon be a-flood in its own filth It is often very near it, the blue black liquid seen oozing up between the flagstones that bridge over the zancas, filling the air with a stench intolerable Every recurring revolution make the e and neglectful of their duties But when the scouring-out process is going on, the sights are still s are lifted and laid on one side--exposing all the impurity--while the stuff is tossed to the other, there to lie festering for days, or until dry enough to be more easily rees The grand daht contortion in their pretty noses But they would notin the Paseo were it twenty times worse--that they wouldn't To thelish sisterhood in Hyde Park, the afternoon drive is everything--to some, as report says, even more than meat or drink; since they deny thee
It -out of the zancas is a job for which labourers are not readily obtained
Even the _pelado_ turns up his nose at it, and the poorest proletarian will only undertake the task when starvation is staring hirading It is, therefore, one of the travaux-forces which, as a aol-bird” Convicts are the scavengers; cri periods of ih in the _carceles_ of Mexico to clean out all the sewers in the country Even by these it is a task looked upon with repugnance, and usually assigned to them as a punishard the dirt or the s hard, and often requiring to be done under a hot, broiling sun