There was also a "grand funcion" at—the "Teatro Nacional" at which an opera company gave the Spanish version of "Crispino e la Comare" in good shape, though the fairy was dressed in deep mourning; and a theatrical entertainment in which the "Campania Zarazula" gave us "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Spanish, and a curious old cabin it was. They varied the plot so as to make the villain Legree get his deserts, being whipped to death by the slaves, to the great satisfaction of the populace, half of whom had been affected to tears by the imaginary sufferings of the slaves, though they had most of them seen bull-fights and kindred atrocities without a murmur of disapprobation, and probably, with yells of delight.
But the grand and closing feature of the demonstrations in honor of the nation's guest, was the ball at the Teatro Nacional on the night of Thursday, December 9th. Three thousand tickets, of which one thousand were to families, were issued, and more than three thousand persons were in attendance. The great theater—the largest on the continent of America—was decorated with flowers and the Mexican and American colors from floor to roof, and lighted within by three hundred and fifty chandeliers, each holding from twenty to fifty candles, which poured down a flood of mellow light and blistering stearine on all below. The stage was carried out so as to cover all the body of the vast house, the fine galleries or tiers of palcos rising one above the other to the roof, being reserved for the use of those not participating in the dance.
Outside, the scene was magnificent. The front of the teatro, from ground to roof, was covered with lanterns, the entire street, for a whole block, was arched over
