ong fashion
by an attendant, who ascended the towers. These bells were cast of a
very fine quality of old copper; and the tone was largely determined by
the quality of the cast. Old Mission bells are scarce to-day in New
Mexico; and collectors offer as high as $1,500 and $3,000 for the
genuine article. Vesper bells played a great part in the life of the old
Spanish regime. Ladies might be promenading the Plaza, workmen busy over
their tasks, gamblers hard at the wheel and dice. At vesper call, men,
women and children dropped to knees; and for a moment silence fell, all
but the calling of the vesper bells. Then the bells ceased ringing, and
life went on in its noisy stream.

[Illustration: There are streets in Santa Fe where one may see box-like
adobe houses beside dwellings of modern architecture]

No account of the Governor's Palace would be complete without some
mention of the marvels of dress among the dons and donas of the old
regime. Could we see them promenading the Plaza and the Palace as they
paraded their gayety less than half a century ago, we would imagine
ourselves in some play house of the French Court in its most luxurious
days. Indians dressed then as they dress to-day, in bright-colored
blankets fastened gracefully round hip and shoulders. Peons or peasants
wore serapes, blankets with a slit in the center, over the shoulders.
Women of position wore not hats but the silk _rebozo_ or scarf, thrown
over the head with one end back across the left shoulder. On the street,
the face was almost covered by this scarf. Presumably the purpose was to
conceal charms; but when you consider the combination of dark eyes and
waving hair and a scarf of the finest color and texture that could be
bought in China or the Indies, it is a question whether that scarf did
not set off what it was designed to conceal. About the shawls used as
scarfs there is much misconception. These are not of Spanish or Mexican
make. They come down in the Spanish families from the days when the
vessels of the traders of Mexico trafficked with China and Japan. These
old shawls to-day bring prices varying all the way from $200 to $2,000.

The don of fashion dressed even more gayly than his spouse. Jewelry was
a passion with both men and women; and the finest type of old jewelry in
America to-day is to be found in New Mexico. The hat of the don was the
wide-brimmed sombrero. Around this was a silver or gold cord, with a
gold or silver cockade. The