When a stranger is thus received in the confidential intimacy of a household, there is no longer any restraint put upon the inmates in his presence. The courteous expressions which are ordinarily used in the commerce of society, and whose formal but excessive politeness have induced careless men to imagine the Mexicans insincere, are now only expressive of the most cordial devotion to your interests and wants. "Mi casa esta á su disposition," "my house is at your disposal," means exactly what it says. You are at home.
As the Mexicans are not a people addicted to the same mode or extent of informal social intercourse among themselves as the Germans, the English, or the Americans, it is not strange that they should guard their doors so carefully against foreigners who visit their country for the purpose of acquiring fortunes rapidly, in order to enjoy them in the society of their native land. The reception of a stranger upon an intimate footing is therefore the greatest compliment he can receive from the meritorious classes. It is not alone with public affairs or purely intellectual discussions that we are entertained in such re-unions of cultivated society. In the free conversation of the intimate circle there is always a cordial display of sincere interest for the welfare of each other. The aspirations of the rich or the hopes of the poor, are always tenderly discussed. There is abundant evidence of heart; and, even after years have elapsed, and the sojourner in Mexico has returned to his home, he will find by his correspondence that he is still remembered by the intelligent friends, who made him forget that he was "a stranger in a strange land."
The Mexicans have generally supposed that it was impossible to entertain their friends without an extravagant expenditure which was perhaps the