bout the great
square and in the plaza, forming a gay and impressive scene until nearly
midnight. There is a holiday gayety about life in this southern clime
which is quite infectious.

The fascination of the scene; the delights of a land of perpetual
sunshine; the charming surface aspect of everything; the rank, luxuriant
vegetation; the perfume of flowers mingling with the delightful music
that floated upon the air in such an hour as we have described,--all
these did not blind the moral sense, though for the moment the physical
powers were led captive. One pauses to review the aimless lives of these
indolent but beautiful women, and the useless career of the men who form
the upper class. It is natural to contrast the lives of such with that
of the abject poor, the half-starved, half-naked masses who hung about
the outer lines of the assembled throng on the plaza; men and women
living a mere animal existence, and yet who represented such grand and
noble possibilities. Ah! the puzzle of it all! Who can solve the riddle?
Lazarus and Dives jostle each other not alone in Guadalajara, but all
over the world.

In this city, on the Saturday following Good Friday, occurred what is
here termed "Judas Iscariot Day," when the concentrated vengeance of the
Christian world is supposed to be visited upon the vile betrayer of his
Master. The whole object of the occasion is to heap contumely, derision,
and dishonor upon the name of Judas. Extensive preparations are made a
week or more before the special day. The town presented an appearance
similar to the Fourth of July in the United States. The streets were
full of temporary booths, and all the inhabitants were out of doors.
Figures twelve or fifteen inches long, made of paper, rags, or other
combustible material, in various colors, representing Judas, and stuffed
with firecrackers and powder, were sold to men and boys, to be fired at
the proper time. Some of these figures were of life size, containing
rockets and blue lights. Judas was represented with folded hands, arms
akimbo, with legs in a running posture, and, in short, in every
conceivable attitude. Some of the larger figures bore mottoes about
their necks in Spanish, such as "I am a scion of the Devil;" another, "I
am about to die for my treachery;" and a third, "I have no friends, and
deserve none," "Let me give up the ghost," etc. Hundreds of these toy
figures were tied to a rope, and hung across the thoroughfares at the