Frank did not invest in the lottery, but he went to witness one of the drawings. It took place in public, and seemed to be perfectly fair. The numbers were drawn from the boxes by blind boys, who were brought from one of the hospitals for the blind, and were accompanied by the professor in charge of that institution. Sometimes, when a blind boy or man cannot be easily obtained, the drawing is made by an Indian who cannot read; and he is carefully blindfolded, so that there can be no suspicion of fraud.
Judging by the large attendance at the drawing, it is evident that the lottery is very popular in Mexico. Nearly everybody seems to speculate in the tickets, and when the drawing is made and the lucky number announced, there is intense excitement. There is an old adage that lightning does not strike twice in the same place. It would seem as if the proverb should be reversed, as the story goes that Señor Manuel Garcia, the owner of a hacienda near Manzanillo, won the highest prize in the great National Lottery three times in succession.
Flower-sellers were out in goodly number when the youths took their morning walk, and the wares they offered were fresh and attractive. We have already seen the fondness of the Mexicans for flowers, as shown at Monterey and elsewhere in the north. The city offered no exception to the rule, and the size and beauty of the bouquets, combined with their low price, were calculated to astonish the visitors. For twenty-five cents Frank bought a bouquet, which he sent to Doctor Bronson's room. It was about two feet high and the same in diameter, and was composed principally of roses of a dozen varieties. While Frank was paying for his purchase Fred sniffed at it, and was surprised to find that in spite of their beauty the roses had hardly any perfume. On inquiry, he learned that this was the case with nearly all flowers in the Valley of Mexico, and was supposed to be due to the rarity of the air.
"We had some difficulty at first," said Fred, "in finding our way about the city, for the reason that the names of some of the streets change at each block. This plan, which is very annoying to a stranger, and even to a resident, is being given up; and they told us that in a few years they hoped to abandon it altogether. Just think what New York or Boston would be with such a system as this!"
FLOWER-GIRL.