was so striking that I told him so, and begged him to allow himself to be sketched. But no sooner were the initial marks made upon the paper, than, looking on to examine the work, he became filled with unreasonable but not-to-be-combated terror, saying, perhaps the man he looked like had robbed me, and so, with the inevitable finger motion, and a "No, I cannot permit it!" turned and fled out of the room, down the steps, and up the street like a deer before the hounds.
In writing of this class, I have allowed them to speak for themselves, and surely no history is more reliable and complete than that related by the actors in the events recorded.
They are possessed of a certain amount of piquancy, as expressed in their peculiar dialect and idioms. With this there is united also a strong vein of humor, and they usually see a point as quickly as any people.
In consideration of the fact that they have but little education, their native shrewdness and intelligence are surprising. The most highly educated and enlightened cannot cope with them in the matter of barter and sale and the counting of money. By instinct they know just how, when, and where to strike the weak point of a stranger in any business transaction.
Americans are special objects of interest in this line. They always imagine that all Americans are possessed of boundless wealth.
The love of money is well developed, and the possibility of winning even a tlaco at gambling is sufficient to induce them to lose a whole night's sleep.
These people are made up of that mixed race of natives and whites called mestizos.
Their social life is of a free nature, and consequently but few marriages take place among them. The women are vulgarly called gatas (cats), or garbanceras (bastards); the former are those who usually perform the offices of chambermaids, nurses and cooks, the latter generally do the marketing.
As the shops where the marketing is done are kept by the common
