Besides the cock-pit, the gaming-table, and the Alameda [tree-lined avenue], which is the popular promenade for the wealthy and the indolent, one of the most favorite pastimes of the females generally is shopping; and the most fashionable time for this is by candle-light, after they have partaken of their chocolate and their cigarritos. The streets and shops are literally filled from dusk till nine or ten o'clock; and many a time have I seen the counter of a store actually lined till a late hour, with the fairest and most fashionable señoritas of the city.

Commerce of the Prairies (1831–1839), Chapter 22 - Visit to Town of Jesus-Maria — Anti-Masonic Auto de Fe