either because he had nothing further to say, or because he was
reflecting what would be the best application he could make to his hearers
of these various wanderings and sufferings of the children of Esau. The
pause that ensued, however, was sufficiently long for the Leperos entirely
to forget all they had heard. Their look of stupid vacancy returned, and
they relapsed, like so many swine, into their various postures of lazy
repose, quite oblivious of the orator who had so skilfully transferred to
Mexico the heroes of the Old Testament. Some of them continued gazing down
the road at the horsemen, who were now drawing near.

"_Ahuitzote!_" grumbled an Indian. "_Son Gachupinos._"

"Don Agostino, though a Creole, is a worse Ahuitzote than the Gachupins,"
murmured another Lepero.

"The Creoles," screamed a Zambo, "are the _piques'_ eggs,[14] the
Gachupins the _piques_ themselves. The Creoles are the sons of the
Marquis, and of his conquistadores and camerados, who made the Tlascalans
help them against Anahuac, and when they had won it, made slaves of their
allies. _Larifari! Viva la libertad!_"

"_Viva la libertad!_" cried another of the same negro-Indian race, who was
standing with his arms a-kimbo, and looking down with sovereign contempt
upon the mob of Leperos. "_Viva la libertad! Viva! Viva!_ See there, the
house of Conde San Jago, the richest caballero in Mexico, who made netto
six million dollars out of a single _bonanza_.[15] Netto, senores. _Viva
la libertad!_ D'ye know, senores, what liberty is? _We_ have been where it
flourished, in Guanaxato, where we brought the dollars out of the
Alhondega by baskets-full. _Si, senorias_, the most beautiful, milkwhite,
silver dollars, to be had for the taking; that is liberty."

"_Viva la libertad!_" exclaimed the knot of Leperos. The cry was repeated
by the next group, and by the next, till it was taken up by thousands of
voices.

"_Todos diablos!_" cried the Zambo, "a hurra for liberty, that Cassio may
take what he likes, and where he likes. I will have the condesa Ruhl's
donzella to pour out my pulque, and the condesa herself--by the virgin of
Guadalupe, she shall be our _tortillera_!"[16]

"_Santa Brigida, santa Agata, santa Marta, santa Ursula, con todas
sus diez mil virgenes_, pray for the senses of the senor Chino!" cried the
Leperos, beyond measure astonished and angry at the presumption of the
Zambo. "Chino!" screamed the negro-Indian furiously, "do you take me