The Project Gutenberg EBook of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, Number 371, September 1846, by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, Number 371, September 1846 Author: Various Release Date: March 6, 2019 [EBook #59017] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BLACKWOOD'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE, SEPT 1846 *** Produced by Brendan OConnor, Jonathan Ingram, Charlie Howard, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Library of Early Journals.) BLACKWOOD’S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. No. CCCLXXI. SEPTEMBER, 1846. Vol. LX. CONTENTS. MEXICO, ITS TERRITORY AND PEOPLE, 261 A SUMMER DAY. BY THOMAS AIRD, 277 CABRERA, 293 MY COLLEGE FRIENDS. NO. IV. CHARLES RUSSELL, THE GENTLEMAN COMMONER. CONCLUSION, 309 LETTERS ON ENGLISH HEXAMETERS. LETTER II., 327 ALGERIA, 334 HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE AND LIVE IN IT. NO. II., 349 HOW I BECAME A YEOMAN, 358 THE WATER-CURE, 376 EDINBURGH: WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, 45, GEORGE STREET; AND 37, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. To whom all Communications (post paid) must be addressed. SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, EDINBURGH. SABLONIERE HOTEL, LEICESTER SQUARE, London, July 27th, 1846. Messrs BLACKWOOD AND SONS, GENTLEMEN,—SCARCELY ARRIVED IN LONDON, ON MY ANNUAL VISIT TO THIS CAPITAL, A FIEND PUT INTO MY HANDS A COPY OF BLACKWOOD’S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE FOR JUNE 1846, IN WHICH I OBSERVE AN ARTICLE ENTITLED “ Rogues in Outline.” THE WRITER OF THIS ARTICLE, IN A SECTION HEADED “Birbone—Baseggio,” HAS TAKEN MOST UNWARRANTABLE LIBERTIES WITH MY CHARACTER, MIXING THEM UP WITH SOME FALSE DETAILS RESPECTING MY PRIVATE LIFE. THE LATTER IMPERTINENCES I TREAT WITH CONTEMPT: NOT SO THE TITLES APPLIED TO ME OF “ Old Rogue B——” AND “Birbone Baseggio,” with the insinuation that I make a practice of selling modern objects for antiques. IF YOUR CORRESPONDENT HAD TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO INQUIRE OF ANY OF HIS well-informed COUNTRYMEN AT ROME OR IN ENGLAND, HE CERTAINLY NEVER WOULD HAVE COMMITTED YOU, OR HIMSELF, BY THE PUBLICATION OF THE CALUMNY HE SO WANTONLY SEEKS TO INFLICT ON MY CHARACTER. LUCKIL FOR ME, THERE ARE NOW HERE MANY RESPECTABLE PERSONS OF RANK AND REPUTATION WHO WILL TAKE A PLEASURE IN ATTESTING, if necessary, THE HABITUAL FAIRNESS AND STRAIGHT-FORWARDNESS OF MY DEALINGS. I EXPECT EQUAL FAIRNESS FROM YOU, AND THAT YOU WILL LOSE NO TIME IN AFFORDING THE REPARATION OF A WRONG YOU HAVE (I TRUST UNCONSCIOUSLY) DONE ME, BY AT LEAST PUBLISHING THIS LETTER IN YOUR NEXT NUMBER, GIVING ME I the mean time an assurance to that effect. I await your answer, and remain your obedient servant, JOSEPH BASEGGIO. BLACKWOOD’S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. No. CCCLXXI. SEPTEMBER, 1846. Vol. LX. MEXICO, ITS TERRITORY AND PEOPLE. MAN MUST BE CONTENT TO FOLLOW THE STEPS OF PROVIDENCE TARDILY, TIMIDLY, AND UNCERTAINLY; BUT HE CAN HAVE NO PURSUIT MORE WORTHY HIS GENIUS, HIS WISDOM, OR HIS VIRTUE. WHY ONE HALF OF THE GLOBE REMAINED HIDDEN FROM THE OTHER DURING THE FOUR OR FIVE THOUSAND YEARS AFTER ITS CREATION, IS AMONG THE QUESTIONS WHICH WE MAY LONG ASK WITHOUT OBTAINING AN ANSWER. WHY THE TREASURES, THE PLANTS, AND TH ANIMALS OF AMERICA SHOULD HAVE BEEN UTTERLY UNKNOWN, ALIKE TO THE ADVENTUROUS EXPEDITIONS OF TYRE AND SIDON, TO THE NAUTICAL SKILL OF CARTHAGINIAN, TO THE BRILLIANT CURIOSITY OF THE GREEK, AND TO THE IMPERIAL AMBITION OF THE ROMAN; WHILE THEIR DISCOVERY WAS RESERVED F GENOESE SAILOR IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, IS A PROBLEM PERHAPS INACCESSIBLE OF SOLUTION BY ANY HUMAN INSIGHT INTO THE WAYS OF THE GREA DISPOSER OF ALL THINGS. YET MAY IT NOT BE CONJECTURED THAT THE KNOWLEDGE WAS EXPRESSLY WITHHELD UNTIL IT COULD BE OF PRACTICAL USE MANKIND; THAT IF AMERICA HAD BEEN DISCOVERED A THOUSAND YEARS BEFORE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND ONLY A VAST WILDERNESS IN BOTH ITS SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN DIVISIONS, FOR IT WAS THEN ALMOST WHOLLY UNPEOPLED; THAT WITH THE CHIEF INTEREST OF IMPERIAL ROME TURNED 261 EUROPEAN POSSESSION OR EASTERN CONQUEST, THE DISCOVERY WOULD HAVE BEEN NEARLY THROWN AWAY; THAT THERE WAS HITHERTO NO SUPERFLUX OF EUROPEAN POPULATION TO POUR INTO THIS MAGNIFICENT DESERT; AND THAT EVEN IF ROMAN ADVENTURE HAD DARED THE TERRORS OF THE OCEAN, AND T PERILS OF NEW CLIMATES, AT AN ALMOST INTERMINABLE DISTANCE FROM HOME, THE MASSACRES AND PLUNDERS HABITUAL TO HEATHEN CONQUEST MUST HAVE IMPEDED, IF NOT WHOLLY BROKEN UP, THE PROGRESS OF THE FEEBLE POPULATION ALREADY SETTLING ON THE SOIL; OR PERHAPS TRAINED THA population to habits of ferocity like their own, and turned a peaceful and pastoral land into a scene of slaughter and misery? THE DISCOVERY OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT FLASHED ON THE WORLD LIKE THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW CREATION. IN READING THE CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LEARNED AT THE TIME, THE RETURN OF COLUMBUS, AND THE KNOWLEDGE WHICH THAT RETURN BROUGHT, IS SPOKEN OF WITH A RAPTURE OF LANGU MORE RESEMBLING AN ARABIAN TALE THAN THE NARRATIVE OF THE MOST ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE OF MAN. THE PRIMITIVE RACES OF THEIR FELLOW-BEING LIVING IN THE SIMPLICITY OF NATURE, UNDER FORESTS OF THE PALM, WITH ALL DELICIOUS FRUITS FOR THEIR FOOD, WITH GOLD AND PEARLS FOR THEIR TOY THE RICH TREASURES OF NEW PLANTS AND ANIMALS OF ALL SPECIES FOR THEIR INDULGENCE AND THEIR USE, WERE DESCRIBED WITH THE ASTONISHMENT AN delight of a dream of Fairy-land, or the still richer visions of restored Paradise. YET, WHEN THE HUES OF IMAGINATION GREW COLOURLESS BY TIME, THE CONTINENTS OF THE WEST DISPLAYED TO THE RIPENED KNOWLEDGE OF EUROPE VIRTUES ONLY STILL MORE SUBSTANTIAL. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE NEW WORLD IS OF THE M STRIKING KIND. IT IS SCARCELY LESS MARKED THAN THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE BROKEN, DEEPLY-DIVIDED, AND WELL-WATERED SURFACE OF EUROPE, AND THE BROAD PLAINS, VAST MOUNTAIN RANGES, AND FEW, BUT MIGHTY RIVERS, WHICH FORM THE CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF ASIA. IN NORTH AMERICA WE SEE A LAND OF SINGULARLY VARIED SURFACE, IN ITS PRIMITIVE STATE, COVERED WITH FOREST; WITH AN UNCERTAIN CLIMATE; A SOIL SELDOM LUXURIA OFTEN STERILE, EVERY WHERE REQUIRING, AND GENERALLY REWARDING HUMAN INDUSTRY; WATERED BY MANY RIVERS, PENETRATED IN ALMOST EVER DIRECTION BY NAVIGABLE STREAMS, AND TRAVERSED FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, AN UNUSUAL DIRECTION FOR RIVERS, BY AN IMMENSE STREAM, THE MISSISSIPPI, BRINGING DOWN THE FURS, THE PRODUCE OF THE NORTH, THE CORN OF THE TEMPERATE ZONE, THE FRUITS OF THE TROPICS, AND CONNECTING ALL TH REGIONS WITH THE COMMERCE OF EUROPE: A NATURAL CANAL, OF MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND MILES, WITHOUT A PERCEPTIBLE DIFFERENCE OF BREADT FROM NEW ORLEANS TO THE FALLS OF ST ANTHONY. THE ARKANSAS, MISSOURI, OHIO, NOBLE RIVERS, TRAVERSE THE LAND IN A VARIETY OF DIRECTIO WITH COURSES OF FROM FIFTEEN HUNDRED TO TWO THOUSAND MILES; AND TO THE NORTH OF THE UNITED STATES, A CHAIN OF VAST INLAND SEAS, succession of Mediterraneans, surrounded by productive provinces, rapidly filling with a busy population. THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE NEW WORLD EXHIBITS THE PLAINS OF TARTARY, THE SOLITARY MOUNTAIN RANGE OF INDIA, THE FERTILITY OF THE A SOIL. IT, TOO, HAS ITS GANGES AND ITS INDUS, IN THE AMAZON AND THE RIO DE LA PLATA; BUT ITS SMALLER STREAMS ARE FEW AND FEEBLE. IT HAS T FIERY HEAT OF INDIA, THE DANGEROUS EXHALATIONS OF THE JUNGLE, THE TIGER AND THE LION, THOUGH OF A LESS DARING AND POWERFUL SPECIES; AND T native, dark, delicate, timid, and indolent, as the Hindoo. WITHOUT SPEAKING OF THE CONTRAST AS PERFECTLY SUSTAINED IN ALL ITS POINTS, IT IS UNQUESTIONABLE THAT NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA HAVE B FORMED FOR TWO GREAT FAMILIES OF HUMANKIND AS DISTINCT AS ENERGY AND EASE; THAT THE NORTH IS TO BE POSSESSED ONLY AS THE CONQUEST OF TOIL while the South allows of the languor into whose hand the fruit drops from the tree. MAY IT NOT ALSO BE RATIONALLY CONJECTURED, THAT IN THE DISCOVERY EUROPE AND AMERICA WERE EQUALLY THE OBJECTS OF THE PROVIDENT BENEVOLENCE? IT WAS PALPABLY THE DIVINE WILL TO GIVE EUROPE A NEW AND POWERFUL ADVANCE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. PRINTING, GUNPOWDE AND THE MARINER’S COMPASS, WERE ITS GIFTS TO EUROPE; TO BE FOLLOWED AND CONSUMMATED IN THAT NEW IMPULSE AT ONCE TO RELIGIOUS TRUTH AND TO SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT, WHICH SO SOON TRANSPIRED IN THE GERMAN REFORMATION, AND IN THE COMMERCIAL SYSTEM OF ENGLAND AND THE CONTINENTAL NATIONS. THE EXTENSION OF THIS MIGHTY IMPULSE TO AMERICA RAPIDLY FOLLOWED. THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY WAS PLANTED IN NO AMERICA IN THE REIGN OF ELIZABETH, THE GREAT PROTECTRESS OF PROTESTANTISM; AND THE FIRST AUTHENTIC KNOWLEDGE OF SOUTH AMERICA W BROUGHT TO EUROPE BY THE DISCOVERIES OF ENGLISHMEN, FOLLOWING THE ROUTE OF COLUMBUS, AND GOING BEYOND HIM. IT IS TRUE THAT THE INTERCOURSE OF THE SOUTH WITH THE ENERGETIC QUALITIES AND FREE PRINCIPLES OF EUROPE WAS IMPEDED BY AN INFLUENCE WHICH, FROM ITS FIRS BEING, HAS BEEN HOSTILE TO THE FREE PROGRESS OF THE HUMAN MIND. THE POPEDOM THREW ITS SHADOW OVER SPANISH AMERICA, AND THE GREAT EXPERIMENT OF CIVILISATION WAS COMPARATIVELY THROWN AWAY WHEREVER THE PRIEST OF ROME WAS PARAMOUNT. THE LAND, TOO, WITNESSED A SUCCESSION OF SLAUGHTERS, AND THE STILL MORE FEARFUL TRADE IN THE UNFORTUNATE NATIVES OF AFRICA. BUT THE MOST POWERFUL CONTRAST FURNISHED TO MANKIND IN THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE PROTESTANT STATES OF THE NORTH, IN THEIR INCREASING COMMERCE, IN THE VIGOUR OF THEIR LAW THE ACTIVITY OF THE PUBLIC MIND, AND THE ASCENT OF THEIR SCATTERED AND FEEBLE COMMUNITIES INTO THE RANK AND THE ENJOYMENTS OF A GRE nation. NOR ARE WE TO SPEAK OF SOUTH AMERICA AS HAVING WHOLLY SLEPT DURING THE PERIOD SINCE ITS DISCOVERY. IF ALL THE LARGER FACULTIES WHIC GIVE NATIONS A PLACE IN HISTORY REMAINED IN A STATE OF COLLAPSE UNDER THE PRESSURE OF SPAIN, SOCIETY HAD MADE A FORWARD STEP IN EVERY PROVINCE OF THAT GREAT TERRITORY. THE INHABITANTS HAD NEVER RELAPSED INTO THEIR PRIMITIVE BARBARISM; THEY HAD LAWS, COMMERCE MANUFACTURES, AND LITERATURE, ALL IN A RUDER DEGREE THAN AS DEVELOPED UNDER THE VIVID ACTIVITY OF EUROPE, BUT ALL RAISING THE PROVINCES IN GRADUAL CAPACITY OF SOCIAL VIGOUR, OF POPULAR CIVILISATION, AND PERHAPS EVEN OF THAT PURE RELIGION WITHOUT WHICH NATIONAL POWER IS ONLY NATIONAL EVIL. PERHAPS THE CLOUD WHICH HAS RESTED FOR SO MANY AGES OVER THE MORAL SOIL OF SOUTH AMERICA, MAY HAVE BEEN SUFFERED TO REMAIN UNTIL THE SOIL ITSELF ACQUIRED STRENGTH FOR A LARGER PRODUCT UNDER A MORE INDUSTRIOUS GENERATION. IT IS NOT IMPROBABLE THAT AS THE and silver of the South were evidently developed, in the fifteenth century, to supply the new commercial impulse of that time of European ADVANCE, THE STILL MORE COPIOUS, AND STILL MORE IMPORTANT, AGRICULTURAL WEALTH OF COUNTRIES OVERFLOWING WITH UNUSED EXUBERANCE— MAGNIFICENT TROPICAL FERTILITY OF THE CONTINENTS BEYOND THE OCEAN—MAY HAVE BEEN RESERVED TO INCREASE THE OPULENCE AND STIMULATE T ARDOUR OF A PERIOD WHICH THE STEAM-BOAT AND THE RAILWAY HAVE MARKED FOR A MIGHTY CHANGE IN THE EARTH; AND IN WHICH THEY MAY BE ONLY THE FIRST FRUITS OF SCIENTIFIC SKILL, THE PROMISES OF INVENTIONS STILL MORE POWERFUL, THE HERALDS OF A GENERAL PROGRESS OF MANKIND, TO WH colossal strides all the past is feeble, unpurposed, and ineffectual. THE INVASION OF THE MEXICAN TERRITORY BY THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES HAS NATURALLY ATTRACTED THE EYES OF EUROPE; AND WHETHER WAR SHALL ISSUE IN A TOTAL CONQUEST OR IN A HOLLOW PEACE, ITS RESULTS MUST STRONGLY AFFECT THE FUTURE CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY. MEXICO M ONCE TAKE THE BOLD ATTITUDE OF AN EMPIRE, OR MUST BE DIS-SEVERED, PROVINCE BY PROVINCE, UNTIL ITS VERY NAME IS NO MORE. BUT NO COUNTRY OF THE WESTERN WORLD HAS A POSITION MORE FITTED FOR EMPIRE. WASHED ON THE EAST BY THE GULF WHICH BEARS ITS NAME, AND ON THE WEST BY THE PACIFIC, IT THUS POSSESSES DIRECT ACCESS TO TWO OCEANS, AND BY THEM TO THE MOST OPULENT REGIONS OF THE GLOBE. ON THE SOUTH IT CAN DREAD 262 263 NO RIVAL IN THE STRUGGLING STATE OF GUATEMALA. BUT THE NORTH IS THE TRUE FRONTIER ON WHICH THE BATTLE OF ITS EXISTENCE IS TO BE FOUGHT, I AT ALL, FOR BEYOND THAT BARRIER STRETCH THE UNITED STATES. THE EXTENT OF ITS TERRITORY STARTLES EUROPEAN CONCEPTIONS, EXTENDING IN LATITUDE FROM FIFTEEN TO FORTY-TWO DEGREES, AND IN WEST LONGITUDE FROM EIGHTY-SEVEN TO ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE DEGREES. ITS SURFA ON A GENERAL CALCULATION, CONTAINS ABOUT A MILLION AND A HALF OF SQUARE MILES, OR ABOUT seven TIMES THE DIMENSIONS OF FRANCE. YET, THOUGH THUS APPROACHING THE EQUATOR, THE CLIMATE OF MEXICO IS IN GENERAL HIGHLY FAVOURABLE TO LIFE AND TO THE PRODUCTS OF THE TEMPERATE ZONE: INCOMPARABLY LARGER PORTION OF ITS SURFACE BEING A SUCCESSION OF TABLE-LANDS OR ELEVATED PLAINS, WHERE, WITH THE SUN OF THE TROPICS BLAZIN ALMOST VERTICALLY, THE EVENINGS ARE REFRESHINGLY COOL, THE BREEZE IS FELT FROM THE MOUNTAINS OR THE OCEAN, AND THE DAYS ARE SCARCELY HOT than those of Europe. We now glance at the principal features of the great territory. VERA CRUZ, ITS CHIEF COMMERCIAL CITY, AND MEDIUM OF INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPE, IS HANDSOMELY BUILT, EXHIBITING THE USUAL SIGNS OF COMMERCIAL WEALTH, IN THE STATELINESS OF ITS PRIVATE HOUSES, AND IN THE RARER PECULIARITY OF WIDE AND CLEANLY STREETS. BUT WHEN D COMMERCE BUILD WITH ANY OTHER CONSIDERATION THAN THAT OF TRADE? VERA CRUZ IS PROVERBIALLY UNHEALTHY; A RANGE OF SWAMPS IN THE VICIN LOADS THE SUMMER AIR WITH FATAL EXHALATIONS; AND THE VOMITO, THE NAME FOR A RAPID DISEASE, EVIDENTLY AKIN TO THE FEARFUL BLACK-VOMIT AFRICA, REQUIRES EITHER THE MOST VIGILANT PRECAUTION, OR MORE PROBABLY THE MOST FORTUNATE CHANCE, TO ESCAPE ITS IMMEDIATE SEIZURE OF TH frame. Yet it is said that this disease seldom attacks the natives of the city. BUT THE GENERAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE EUROPEAN FRAME TO TROPICAL DISEASE, IS TRIED HERE IN ALMOST EVERY SHAPE OF SUFFERING; AND TYPHU yellow fever, and almost pestilence, terribly thin the concourse of the stranger. YET SUCH IS THE COURAGE OF MONEY-MAKING IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD, THAT CLIMATE IS REGARDED AS ONLY A BUGBEAR. THE TRADER IN VERA CRUZ ENTERS ON THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST “ALL THE ILLS THAT FLESH IS HEIR TO,” AS IF HE HAD A PATENT FOR LIFE. THE STREETS, IN THE TRADING SE EXHIBIT PERPETUAL CROWDS; THE HARBOUR IS FULL OF MASTS, NESTLING UNDER THE PROTECTION OF ST JUAN D’ULLOA FROM THE BURSTS OF WIND WH SOMETIMES COME WITH TERRIBLE VIOLENCE FROM THE NORTH; AND THE FUNERAL AND THE FESTIVITY GO ON TOGETHER, AND WITHOUT MUCH IMPEDING EA other, in a land which for the time exhibits the very Festino, or fête of the Merchant, the Sailor, and the Creole. But, when this season ends, Vera CRUZ IS AS SAD AS A DUNGEON, AS SILENT AS A MONASTERY, AND AS SICKLY AS AN HOSPITAL. THE SEÑORAS, A RACE OF PERFECTLY SPANISH-VISAGED, BLACK-EYED, AND VERY COQUETTISH BEAUTIES, SIT ALL DAY DROOPING IN THEIR BALCONIES, LIKE DOVES UPON THE HOUSETOPS, PERHAPS LONGING FOR A HURRICANE, AN EARTHQUAKE, OR ANY THING WHICH MAY BREAK UP THE MONOTONY OF THEIR EXISTENCE. THE SOUND OF A GUITAR, A PASSING FOOTSTEP, NAY, THE WHINE OF A BEGGAR, SETS A WHOLE STREET IN MOTION, AND THERE IS A GENERAL RUSTLING OF MANTILLAS, AN GENERAL RUSH TO THE WINDOWS. THE MEN BEAR THEIR CALAMITY BETTER; THE SEÑOR, WHEN HE HAS ONCE A CIGAR BETWEEN HIS SALLOW LIPS, HAS MADE UP HIS MIND FOR THE DAY. WHETHER HE STANDS IN THE SUNSHINE OR SITS IN THE SHADE—WHETHER HE WAKES OR SLEEPS, THE CIGAR SERVES HIM FOR ALL THE EXERCISE OF HIS ANIMAL FUNCTIONS. HIS BRAIN IS AS MUCH ENVELOPED IN SMOKE AS HIS MOUSTACHES; HIS CARES VANISH LIKE THE SMOKE ITSELF. IT is not until his cigar-box is empty, that he reverts to the consciousness of his being an inhabitant of this world of ours. BUT SOME ARE OF A MORE ASPIRING DISPOSITION. THEY NOW AND THEN GLANCE ROUND UPON THE NOBLE LANDSCAPE WHICH ENCIRCLES THEIR CITY. BUT THEY DO THIS WITH THE MOST DEXTEROUS DETERMINATION NOT TO MOVE A LIMB. THEIR HOUSES ARE FLAT-ROOFED; SOME OF THEM HAVE LITTLE GLA CHAMBERS ON THE ROOFS; AND THERE THEY SIT WITH THE SKY ABOVE THEM, THE MOUNTAINS ROUND THEM, AND THE SEA BENEATH THEM, DREAMING AWAY LIKE SO MANY DORMICE. ONE OF THEIR AMERICAN DESCRIBERS COMPARES THE WHOLE WELL-BRED POPULATION TO A COLONY OF BEAVERS; BUT, WE PRESUME, without THE INDUSTRY OF THE QUADRUPED. THEIR STILL CLOSER RESEMBLANCE WOULD BE TO A WAX-WORK COLLECTION ON A LARGE SCALE where tinsel petticoats, woollen wigs, and bugle eyes imitate humanity, and every thing is before the spectator but life. JONATHAN, WHO THINKS HIMSELF BORN TO LAY HOLD ON EVERY SCRAP OF THE GLOBE BY WHICH HE CAN TURN ONE CENT INTO TWO, LOOKS, OF COURSE, ON THE WHOLE SHORE OF THE GULF—TOWNS, MINES, AND MOUNTAINS—AS HIS OWN. HE FREES HIMSELF FROM ALL SCRUPLES ON THE SUBJECT BY THE obvious convenience of the conception. “NO SPOT OF THE EARTH,” SAYS ONE OF THOSE NEIGHBOURLY PERSONS, “WILL BE MORE DESIRABLE THAN THE SOIL OF MEXICO FOR A RESIDENCE, whenever it is in possession of our race, WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND LAWS WHICH THEY CARRY WITH THEM WHEREVER THEY GO. THE MARCH OF TIME is not more certain than that this will be, and probably at no distant day.” AND, ON THIS SHOWING, THE MAN OF “GOVERNMENT AND LAWS” PROCEEDS TO “SINK, BURN, AND DESTROY,” IN THE “GREAT CAUSE OF HUMANITY,” EDIFIES THE NATIVE BY GRAPESHOT, AND POLISHES HIM WITH THE CUTLASS. IN THOSE EXPLOITS OF A “FREE AND ENLIGHTENED” PEOPLE, OUR ONLY SURPRISE IS THAT DIPLOMACY ITSELF TAKES THE TROUBLE OF OFFERING ANY APOLOGY WHATEVER. THE COMPARATIVE POWERS OF RESISTANCE AND ATTACK SETTLE CONSCIENCE OF THE AFFAIR IN A WORD. THE SEIZURE IS EASY, AND THEREFORE WHY SHOULD IT NOT BE MADE? THE RIFLEMEN OF KENTUCKY AND THE HUNTERS OF VIRGINIA, THE SQUATTERS OF OHIO AND THE SYMPATHIZERS OF MASSACHUSETS, ALL SEE THE AFFAIR IN THE PROPER LIGHT; AND WHY SHOULD PHILOSOPHER OR THE PHILANTHROPIST, THE MAN OF JUSTICE OR THE MAN OF RELIGION, BE LISTENED TO ON SUBJECTS SO MUCH MORE EASILY SETTLED BY TH RATTLE OF TWELVE-POUNDERS? THE RIGHT OF MAKING WAR ON MEXICO HAS NOT YET FOUND A SINGLE DEFENDER BUT IN THE STREETS; NOT A SINGLE GROU OF DEFENCE BUT IN THE ROAR OF THE RABBLE; NOT A SINGLE PLEA BUT IN THE CONVENIENCE OF THE POSSESSION. EVEN THE AMERICAN JOURNALS HAVE given up their old half-savage rant of universal conquest. Every drop of blood shed in a war of aggression is sure to be avenged. THE PRESENT TOWN IS NOT THE TOWN OF CORTES. HIS “VILLA RICA DE VERA CRUZ” (THE RICH CITY OF THE TRUE CROSS) WAS SEATED SIX MILES FURTHER INLAND. BUT TRADE DECIDED AGAINST THE CHOICE OF THE GREAT SOLDIER. THE PEN, IN THIS INSTANCE, CONQUERED THE SWORD A CENTURY BEFO THE CONFLICT BEGAN IN EUROPE. THE POPULATION OF THE OLD CITY SLIPPED AWAY TO THE NEW AND HASTY HOVELS ON THE SHORE; AND THE GROUND consecrated by the banner of the Spanish hero was left to the donkey and the thistle. THE VISIBLE PROTECTOR OF THE CITY AND HARBOUR (IT HAS SAINTS INNUMERABLE) IS THE ISLAND OF ST JUAN DE ULLOA, LYING WITHIN 600 YARDS OF THE MOLE; AND ON WHICH STANDS THE WELL-KNOWN FORTRESS. SHIPS, OF COURSE, PASS IMMEDIATELY UNDER ITS GUNS; AND IT IS REGARDED AS THE MOST POWERFUL FORTRESS IN MEXICO, OR PERHAPS IN THE NEW WORLD, BEING NOW THOROUGHLY ARMED. THIS IS A DIFFERENT STATE OF THINGS FROM THE CONDITION IN WHICH IT WAS FOUND BY THE FRENCH SQUADRON IN 1839. THE RAMPARTS WERE THEN SCARCELY MOUNTED, THE GUNS WERE MORE DANGEROUS TO THE GARRISON THAN TO THE ENEMY, AND OF REGULAR ARTILLERISTS THERE WERE FEW OR NONE; ENGINEERS WERE UNHEARD OF. THE FREN NATURALLY DID AS THEY PLEASED; ACHIEVED A MAGNANIMOUS TRIUMPH OVER BARE WALLS, AND PLUCKED A LAUREL FOR THE PRINCE DE JOINVILLE FROM T 264 265 MOST BARREN OF ALL POSSIBLE SOILS OF VICTORY; BUT IT SERVED FOR A BULLETIN. THEY WOULD PROBABLY NOW FIND ANOTHER KIND OF RECEPTION, FOR T ramparts have guns, and the guns have artillerymen. THE ASPECT OF THE MEXICAN COAST FROM THE SEA IS SINGULARLY BOLD. ON THE NORTH AND WEST THE WATERS OF THE GULF WASH A LEVEL SHOR BUT ON THE SOUTH ALL IS A CRESCENT OF MOUNTAINS, RISING TO A GENERAL HEIGHT OF 12,000 FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA; BUT THE NOBLEST OBJ IS THE SNOW-CAPPED PINNACLE OF ORIZABA, RISING, ACCORDING TO HUMBOLDT, 17,400 FEET, AND COVERED WITH PERPETUAL SNOW FROM THE HEIGHT OF 15,092. THIS IS A VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN, BUT WHICH HAS SLEPT SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY; WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN ITS magnificence when its summit was covered with flame! THE MODE OF CONVEYANCE BETWEEN VERA CRUZ AND MEXICO IS CHIEFLY BY AN ESTABLISHMENT OF STAGE-COACHES, MAKING THREE JOURNEYS A-WEEK BETWEEN THE CAPITALS. THOSE VEHICLES, ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED BY AN AMERICAN OF THE UNITED STATES, ARE NOW THE PROPERTY OF A MEXICAN WHOM THEY ARE RAPIDLY MAKING RICH. THE HORSES ARE MEXICAN, AND, THOUGH SMALL, ARE STRONG AND SPIRITED. THE STAGE LEAVES VERA CRUZ AT ELEVEN AT NIGHT, AND ARRIVES ABOUT THREE O’CLOCK IN THE NEXT AFTERNOON AT JALAPA, A DISTANCE OF ABOUT SEVENTY MILES, AND A CONTI ASCENT THROUGH MOUNTAINS. THE HOUSES ON THE WAYSIDE ARE FEW AND WRETCHED, CONSTRUCTED OF CANES TEN FEET LONG, FIXED IN THE GROUND, AND COVERED WITH PALM-TREE LEAVES. THE VILLAGES STRONGLY RESEMBLE THOSE OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS; HOVELS TEN OR TWELVE FEET SQUARE, WITH SMALL PATCH OF GROUND FOR CHILLIES AND INDIAN CORN—THE ONLY DIFFERENCE OF THOSE ORIGINAL STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE BEING, THAT THE NOR builds with logs, the southern with mud in the shape of bricks. A LARGE PORTION OF THE COUNTRY BETWEEN THOSE TWO TOWNS BELONGED TO THE WELL-KNOWN GENERAL SANTA ANNA. THE SOIL OF HIS VA ESTATE IS FERTILE, BUT LEFT TO ITS NATURAL FERTILITY—THE GENERAL BEING A SHEPHERD, AND SAID TO HAVE FROM FORTY TO FIFTY THOUSAND HEAD OF HIS PASTURES. HE ALSO ACTS THE FARMER, AND TAKES IN CATTLE TO GRAZE. HIS DEMAND IS CERTAINLY NOT HIGH; AND YORKSHIRE WILL BE ASTONISHED T hear that he feeds them at forty dollars the hundred. THE ASCENT OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGE, AND THE VARIETIES OF THE ROAD, NATURALLY KEEP THE TRAVELLER ON THE qui vive. WITH THE AIR SINGULARLY TRANSPARENT, WITH THE BRIGHTEST OF SKIES ABOVE, AND THE MOST VARIED OF SOUTHERN LANDSCAPES STRETCHING TO AN UNLIMITED EXTENT BELOW, T EYE FINDS A CONTINUAL FEAST. THE CITY OF JALAPA STANDS ON THE SLOPE, THRONED ON A SHELF OF THE MOUNTAIN 4000 FEET ABOVE THE SEA, AND WIT 4000 FEET OF THE BOLD AND SUNNY RANGE ABOVE IT. THE WHOLE HORIZON, EXCEPT IN THE DIRECTION OF VERA CRUZ, IS A CIRCLE OF MOUNTAINS, AND TOWERING ABOVE THEM ALL, AT A DISTANCE OF TWENTY-FIVE MILES, (WHICH, FROM THE CLEARNESS OF THE AIR, SEEMS SCARCELY THE FOURTH PART OF T DISTANCE,) RISES THE SPLENDID CONE OF ORIZABA. ON THE SUMMIT OF THE RANGE STANDS PEROTE, A TOWN CONNECTED WITH A STRONG FORTRESS, perhaps the highest in position that the world exhibits—8500 feet above the shore. HEIGHT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEAT AND COLD EVERY WHERE. IN THE MIDDLE OF A SUMMER WHICH BURNS THE BLOOD IN THE HUMAN FRAME AT VERA CRUZ, MEN IN PEROTE BUTTON THEIR COATS TO THE CHIN, AND SLEEP IN BLANKETS. THUS WINTER IS BROUGHT FROM THE POLES TO T Tropic, and the Mexican shivers under the most fiery sunshine of the globe. THE NEXT STAGE IS PUEBLA—EIGHTY MILES; THE ROAD PASSES OVER A VAST PLAIN GENERALLY WITHOUT A SIGN OF CULTIVATION, AS GENERALLY DESTITUTE OF INHABITANTS, AND WITH SCARCELY A TREE, AND SCARCELY A STREAM. IT IS DIFFICULT TO KNOW TO WHAT PURPOSE THIS HUGE PRAIRIE CAN TURNED, EXCEPT TO A FIELD OF BATTLE. AS THE ROAD APPROACHES PUEBLA, THERE ARE FARMS ERECTED BY THE TOWN, AND FROM WHICH ITS WANTS AR CHIEFLY SUPPLIED. THEY PRODUCE WHEAT, BARLEY, AND INDIAN CORN. THE ONLY FODDER FOR HORSES IS WHEATEN STRAW, BUT ON THIS THEY CONTRIVE TO “grow fat;” we are not called on to account for the phenomenon. BUT EVERY NATION LOVES TO INTOXICATE ITSELF, AND THE MEXICAN BOASTS OF THE MOST NAUSEOUS INVENTION FOR THE PURPOSE AMONG THE DISCOVERIES OF MAN. PULQUE, THE NATIONAL BEVERAGE, IS THE JUICE OF THE AGAVE AMERICANA, FERMENTED. THE ORIGINAL PROCESS BY WHICH THE FERMENTATION IS PRODUCED IS ONE WHICH WE SHALL NOT VENTURE TO DETAIL; BUT THE LIQUOR OBTAINED FROM THE SECTION OF THE PLANT IS DRAWN UP A RUDE SYPHON, AND POURED INTO DRESSED OX-HIDES. THE TASTE IS MAWKISH, AND THE SMELL IS NOISOME. YET, TO THE MEXICAN, IT IS NECTAR AND AMBROSIA TOGETHER. PULQUE IS TO HIM MEAT, DRINK, AND CLOTHING, FOR WITHOUT IT THE WORLD HAS NO PLEASURES. THE MOST REMARKABL CIRCUMSTANCE IS, THAT IT IS WITHOUT STRENGTH. THUS IT WANTS THE CHARM OF BRANDY, WHICH MAY MADDEN, BUT WHICH AT LEAST WARMS; OR AQUAFORTIS, WHICH THE POLE AND THE RUSS ARE SAID TO DRINK AS A QUALIFIER OF THEIR EXCESSES IN TRAIN OIL; BUT THE MEXICAN WOULD RATHER DIE EVEN FIGHT, THAN DISPENSE WITH HIS PULQUE; AND IF SANTA ANNA HAD BUT PUT HIS WARRIORS ON SHORT ALLOWANCE OF THE NATIONAL LIQUOR BEFORE last battle, and promised them double allowance after it, he would probably have been, at this moment, on the Mexican throne. THE AGAVE, CALLED BY THE NATIVES MAGUEY, IS CERTAINLY AN EXTRAORDINARY INSTANCE OF SUCCULENCY, AND AN UNRIVALLED ACQUISITION TO THIRSTY POPULATION. A SINGLE PLANT OF THE AGAVE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO SUPPLY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY GALLONS OF THIS SAP. IN GOOD LAND IT GROW TO AN ENORMOUS SIZE, THE CENTRE STEM OFTEN THIRTY FEET HIGH, AND TWELVE OR FIFTEEN INCHES IN DIAMETER AT THE BOTTOM. WHEN THE PLANT flower, which occurs from seven to fifteen years old, the centre stem is cut off at the bottom, and the juice is collected. HUMBOLT SAYS, THAT A SINGLE PLANT WILL YIELD FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-TWO CUBIC INCHES OF LIQUOR IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, FOR FOUR OR MONTHS, WHICH WOULD GIVE UPWARDS OF FOUR HUNDRED GALLONS. HOW CURIOUS ARE THE DISTRIBUTIONS OF NATURE! ALL THIS PROFUSE EFFLUX O MAWKISH FLUID WOULD BE THROWN AWAY IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY. BUT NATURE HAS GIVEN THE MEXICAN A PALATE FOR ITS ENJOYMENT, AND TO HIM T draught is rapture. MEXICO IS THE LAND FOR THE LOVERS OF PUMICE-STONE. THE WHOLE ROAD FROM VERA CRUZ TO THE CAPITAL IS COVERED WITH REMNANTS OF LAVA EVERY PLAIN SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN BURNT UP BY ERUPTIONS A THOUSAND YEARS OLD, OR, ACCORDING TO THE TIME-TABLE OF THE GEOLOGIST, FROM TEN T TEN THOUSAND MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO. WITH THE MOUNTAIN TOPS ALL ON FIRE, AND THE PLAINS WAVING WITH AN INUNDATION OF FLAME, MEXICO M have been a splendid, though rather an inconvenient residence, in the “olden time.” MEXICAN AGRICULTURE HAS NOT YET ATTAINED THE INVENTION OF AN IRON PLOUGHSHARE; ITS SUBSTITUTE IS PRIMITIVE, AND WOODEN. IT EVIDEN DATES AS FAR BACK AS THE TIMES OF THE DISPERSION. NOR, WITH THOUSANDS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HORSES, HAVE THEY YET DISCOVERED THAT A HORSE MAY BE YOKED TO A PLOUGH. THE TURKS SAY, THAT THE PLAGUE EXISTS ONLY WHERE MAHOMETANISM IS THE RELIGION, AND THEY SEEM TO REGARD THE DISTINCTION AS A PECULIAR FAVOUR OF PROVIDENCE. IT HAS BEEN SAID BY, OR FOR, THE SPANIARDS OF THE PRESENT DAY, THAT NO RAILROA exists, nor, we presume, can EXIST, “WHERE THE SPANISH LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN.” THE LATE ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE A RAILWAY FROM BAYONNE TO MADRID, SO FAR PROVE THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF RAILWAYS WITH THE TONGUE OF THE PENINSULA. A LITTLE EFFORT OF HUMAN PRESUMPTION IN CUBA, 266 BEEN VENTURED ON, IN THE SHAPE OF A BRIEF RAILWAY, WHICH ALREADY GOES, AS WE ARE INFORMED, AT THE RATE OF SOME HALF-DOZEN MILES AN HOUR. BUT AS THIS IS A DANGEROUS SPEED TO A SPANIARD, WE NATURALLY SUPPOSE THAT THE ENTERPRISE WILL BE ABANDONED. BUT THOUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION, BETWEEN DRINKING PULQUE AND SMOKING CIGARS, FIND THEIR HANDS COMPLETELY FULL, ONE CLASS IS AT LEAST SUFFICIENTLY ACTI ROBBERS IN MEXICO ARE WHAT PEDLARS USED TO BE IN ENGLAND; THEY KEEP UP THE LIFE OF THE VILLAGES, PLUNDER WHEREVER THEY CAN, CHEAT WHERE THEY CANNOT PLUNDER, RIDE STOUT HORSES, AND LEAD, ON THE WHOLE, A VARIED, AND SOMETIMES A VERY GAY LIFE. ONE OF THE AMERICAN TRAVELLER SAW, AT ONE OF THE VILLAGES WHERE THE STAGE CHANGED HORSES, A DASHING AND PICTURESQUE FIGURE, GAUDILY DRESSED, WHO RODE BY ON A HANDSOME HORSE RICHLY CAPARISONED. ON INQUIRING IF THE COACHMAN KNEW HIM, THE ANSWER WAS, THAT HE KNEW HIM PERFECTLY WELL, AND THAT HE WAS THE CAPTAIN OF A BAND OF ROBBERS, WHO HAD PLUNDERED THE STAGE SEVERAL TIMES SINCE THE WHIP AND REINS HAD BEEN IN HIS HANDS. ON THE AMERICANS URGING THE QUESTION, WHY HE HAD NOT BROUGHT THE ROBBER TO PUNISHMENT, THE ANSWER WAS, “THAT HE WOULD BE SURE TO BE SHOT BY SOME OF THE BAND THE NEXT TIME HE PASSED THE ROAD;” THE HONOUR OF MEXICAN THIEVES BEING PECULIARLY NICE UPON THIS POINT. IT APPEARED THAT THE DASHING HORSEMAN HAD GONE THROUGH THE VILLAGE ON A reconnaissance, BUT PROBABLY NOT LIKING THE OBVIOUS PREPARATIONS OF THE travellers, had postponed the caption. THE MODE OF MANAGING THINGS IN THIS SOMNOLENT COUNTRY, IS REMARKABLE FOR ITS TRANQUILLITY. THE AMERICAN WHO NARRATES TH CIRCUMSTANCE, HAD TAKEN WITH HIM FROM VERA CRUZ FOUR DRAGOONS; BUT ON ACCIDENTALLY ENQUIRING ON THE ROAD INTO THE STATE OF THEIR AR HE FOUND THAT BUT ONE CARABINE HAD A LOCK IN FIGHTING ORDER, AND EVEN THAT ONE WAS NOT LOADED; ON WHICH HE DISMISSED THE GUARD, AND TRUSTED TO HIS COMPANIONS, WHO WERE ALL WELL ARMED. THE MEXICAN TRAVELLERS, TAKING THE MATTER IN ANOTHER WAY, NEVER CARRY ARMS, B PREPARE A SMALL PURSE “TO BE ROBBED OF,” OF WHICH THEY ARE ROBBED ACCORDINGLY. A FEW MILES FROM PEROTE, THE ROAD WINDS ROUND A HIGH HILL, AND THE PASSENGERS GENERALLY GET OUT AND WALK. THE AMERICANS ON THIS OCCASION HAD LEFT THEIR ARMS IN THE CARRIAGE, BUT THEIR MO PRUDENT CHIEF IMMEDIATELY ORDERED THEM TO CARRY THEM IN THEIR HANDS, AND IN THE COURSE OF THE ASCENT, THEY POUNCED UPON A GROUP OF RUFFIANS WHOM THE DRIVER PRONOUNCED TO BE ROBBERS; AND WHO, BUT FOR THEIR ARMS, WOULD PROBABLY HAVE ATTACKED THEM. IN LESS THAN A MONTH AFTER THIS, FIVE OR SIX AMERICANS HAVING LEFT THEIR ARMS IN THE STAGE AT THIS SPOT, were ATTACKED, AND STRIPT OF EVERY CENT BELONGING TO them. IT MUST BE OWNED THAT THIS COUNTRY HAS FINE ADVANTAGES FOR THE GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD. THE HIGHWAY BETWEEN VERA CRUZ AND MEXICO IS THE GREAT CONDUIT OF LIFE IN THE COUNTRY. NEARLY ALL THE COMMERCE GOES BY THAT WAY, AND NINETY OUT OF EVERY HUNDRED TRAVELLERS PASS THE SAME ROUTE. THE CHIEF PORTION OF THE ROAD IS THROUGH AN ABSOLUTE DESERT. IT FREQUENTLY WINDS UP THE SIDES OF MOUNTAINS, AND THEN BORDERED BY FORESTS OF EVERGREENS, FORMING A CAPITAL SHELTER FOR THE LAND PIRATE, THE WHOLE BEING A COMBINATION OF HOUNSLOW HEATH AND SHOOTER’S HILL ON A GRAND SCALE, AND MAKING HIGHWAY ROBBERY NOT MERELY A SHOWY BUT A SAFE SPECULATION, THE GAMING-TABLE BEING THE chief recruiting-office of the whole battalion of Mercury. THE STATISTICS OF GAMING MIGHT BORROW A CHAPTER FROM MEXICO. THE PASSION FOR PLAY IS PUBLIC, UNIVERSAL, AND UNBOUNDED. IT IS PROBABLY SUPERIOR EVEN TO THE PASSION FOR PULQUE. EVERY ONE PLAYS, AND PLAYS FOR ALL THAT HE IS WORTH IN THE WORLD, AND OFTEN FOR MORE BUT HE HAS HIS RESOURCE—THE ROAD. A MAN WHO HAS LOST HIS LAST DOLLAR, BUT WHO IS DETERMINED TO PLAY ON TILL HE DIES, LAYS HIMSELF UNDE STRONG TEMPTATIONS OF COVETING HIS NEIGHBOUR’S GOODS. THE HOUR WHEN THE STAGES PASS IS KNOWN TO EVERY ONE; THE POINTS OF THE ROAD WHERE THEY MUST GO SLOWLY UP THE HILL, ARE FAMILIAR TO ALL HIGHWAY RECOLLECTIONS. ASSOCIATES ARE EXPEDITIOUSLY FOUND AMONG THE LOITER WHO, AFTER THEIR OWN RUIN, SIT ROUND THE ROOM WATCHING THE LUCK OF OTHERS. THE BAND IS FORMED IN A MOMENT; THEY TAKE THE ROAD WITHO DELAY, POST THEMSELVES IN THE EVERGREENS, ENJOY THE FINEST IMAGINABLE PROSPECT, AND BREATHE THE MOST REFRESHING AIR, UNTIL THE CREAKING O THE COACH-WHEELS PUTS THEM ON THE ALERT. THEY THEN EXHIBIT THEIR WEAPONS, THE PASSENGERS PRODUCE THEIR LITTLE PURSES, THE STAGE IS ROBBE OF EVERY THING PORTABLE, OR CONVERTIBLE INTO CASH, THE BAND RETURN TO THE GAMING-TABLE, FLING OUT THEIR COIN, AND PLAY TILL THEY ARE EITHER RICH or ruined once more. SOME TIME AFTER AN ADVENTURE, SUCH AS WE HAVE DESCRIBED, THE STAGE WAS ROBBED NEAR PUEBLA BY A GANG, ALL OF WHOM HAD THE APPEARANCE OF GENTLEMEN. WHEN THE OPERATION OF RIFLING EVERY BODY AND EVERY THING WAS COMPLETED, ONE OF THE ROBBERS OBSERVED—“THAT THEY MUST NOT BE LOOKED ON AS PROFESSIONAL THIEVES, FOR THEY WERE GENTLEMEN; BUT HAVING BEEN UNFORTUNATE AT PLAY, THEY WERE FORCED T put the company to this inconvenience, for which they requested their particular pardon.” AN INCIDENT OF THIS ORDER OCCURRING IN THE INSTANCE OF A PUBLIC PERSONAGE, SOME YEARS BEFORE, LONG EXCITED REMARKABLE INTEREST. THE SWISS CONSUL HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED AT NOONDAY. A CARRIAGE HAD DRIVEN UP TO HIS DOOR, OUT OF WHICH THREE MEN CAME, ONE IN THE DRESS OF A PRIEST. ON THE DOORS BEING OPENED THEY SEIZED AND GAGGED THE PORTER, RUSHED INTO THE APARTMENT WHERE THE CONSUL WAS SITTING, MURDERED AND ROBBED HIM, AND THEN RETREATED. NONE KNEW WHENCE THEY CAME OR WHITHER THEY WENT; BUT THE MURDERED MAN, IN HIS DYING STRUGGLE, HAD TORN A BUTTON OFF THE COAT OF ONE OF THE ROBBERS, WHICH THEY FOUND STILL CLENCHED IN HIS HAND. A SOLDIER WAS SHORTLY AFTER S WITH MORE MONEY THAN HE COULD ACCOUNT FOR; SUSPICION NATURALLY FELL UPON HIM; HIS QUARTERS WERE SEARCHED, AND ONE OF HIS COATS WAS FOUND WITH THE BUTTON TORN OFF. HE WAS CONVICTED, BUT RELIED UPON A PARDON THROUGH THE COLONEL YANEZ, CHIEF AIDE-DE-CAMP OF TH PRESIDENT SANTA ANNA, WHO WAS HIS ACCOMPLICE IN THE TRANSACTION. ON BEING BROUGHT OUT FOR EXECUTION, AND PLACED ON THE FATAL BENCH WHERE CRIMINALS ARE STRANGLED, HE CRIED OUT, “STOP, I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE MY ACCOMPLICES;” AND HE PRONOUNCED THE NAME OF THE COLONEL. Search was immediately made in the house of Yanez, and a letter in cipher was found, connecting him with this and other robberies. This LETTER WAS LEFT IN THE HANDS OF ONE OF THE JUDGES: HE WAS OFFERED A LARGE SUM TO DESTROY IT, AND REFUSED. IN A FEW DAYS AFTER HE WAS FOUND DEAD, AS WAS SUPPOSED, BY POISON. THE PAPER WAS THEN TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER JUDGE WHO WAS OFFERED THE SAME BRIBE, AND WHO PROMISED TO DESTROY IT; BUT ON CONFERRING WITH HIS PRIEST, THOUGH HE TOOK THE MONEY, HE SHRANK FROM THE ACTUAL DESTRUCTION OF TH DOCUMENT AND KEPT IT IN SILENCE. YANEZ WAS BROUGHT TO TRIAL, AND, BELIEVING THAT THE PAPER WAS NO LONGER IN EXISTENCE, TREATED THE CHAR with contempt. The paper was produced, and the aide-de-camp was condemned and executed. Puebla is one of the handsomest cities in the Mexican territory. The houses are lofty, and in good taste, and the streets are wide and CLEAN ABOUT SIX MILES FROM THE CITY STOOD CHOLUTA, WHICH CORTES DESCRIBED “AS HAVING A POPULATION OF FORTY THOUSAND CITIZENS, WEL CLOTHED,” AND AS IT MIGHT APPEAR, PECULIARLY DEVOUT ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN STYLE, FOR THE CONQUEROR COUNTED IN IT THE TOWERS OF F hundred idol temples. Of this city not a vestige remains but an immense mound of brick, on which now stands a Romish chapel. BEYOND PUEBLA, CULTIVATION EXTENDS TO A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. TO THE RIGHT LIES THE REPUBLIC OF TLASCAL 267 268 SO MEMORABLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST, AND ONCE CROWDED WITH A POPULATION OF WARRIORS. THE ROAD THEN RUNS AT THE FOOT OF POCOCATAPETL, THE HIGHEST OF THE MEXICAN MOUNTAINS, SEVENTEEN THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA. THE CAPITAL IS NOW APPROACHED AND ON PASSING OVER THE NEXT RIDGE, THE FIRST GLIMPSE IS CAUGHT OF THE FAMOUS VALLEY AND CITY OF MEXICO. FROM THIS RIDGE CORTES HAD THE FIRST VIEW OF HIS CONQUEST. IT MUST HAVE BEEN AN OBJECT OF INDESCRIBABLE INTEREST TO THE GREAT SOLDIER WHO HAD FOUGHT HIS WAY TO THE POSSESSION OF THE NOBLEST PRIZE OF HIS AGE. THE VALLEY OF MEXICO, A CIRCUIT OF SEVENTEEN HUNDRED SQUARE MILES, MUST THEN HAVE BEEN A MOST MAGNIFICENT SIGHT, IF IT BE TRUE THAT IT CONTAINED “FORTY CITIES, AND VILLAGES WITHOUT NUMBER.” TIME, WAR, AND THE FATAL GOVERNMEN SPAIN, HAVE NEARLY TURNED THIS SPLENDID TRACT INTO A DESERT. BUT IT STILL HAS FEATURES COMBINING THE PICTURESQUE WITH THE GRAND. THE VA PARTIALLY RESEMBLES THE CRATER OF AN IMMENSE VOLCANO WHOLLY SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS, SOME OF THEM RISING TEN THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE CITY. IN THE CENTRE OF THIS VAST OVAL BASIN IS A LAKE, OR RATHER A CHAIN OF LAKES, THROUGH THE MIDST OF WHICH THE ROAD NOW PASSES FOR ABOUT EIGHTEEN MILES, ON A RAISED CAUSEWAY. THE CITY STANDS IN THE NORTH-EASTERN QUARTER OF THE VALLEY, NOT MORE THAN THREE MILES FROM T MOUNTAINS, AT AN ELEVATION OF SEVEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FEET, AND ITS POSITION SEEMS OBVIOUSLY MADE FOR THE CAPITAL OF AN empire. MEXICO IS REGARDED AS THE “STATELIEST CITY” IN THE NEW WORLD. ITS PLAN WAS LAID, AND THE PRINCIPAL PORTION OF ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS A SAID TO HAVE BEEN DESIGNED, BY CORTES. THEY BEAR ALL THE IMPRESS OF A SUPERB MIND. THE HABITUAL MEANNESS OF DEMOCRATICAL BUILDING HAS NO PLACE THERE; THE MAJORITY OF THE FABRICS WERE EVIDENTLY CONSTRUCTED BY A MAN TO WHOM THE ROYAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE EUROPEAN NATI was familiar, and the finest houses in the city are still inhabited by the descendants of the conqueror. THE PRINCIPAL SQUARE IS THE PRIDE OF THE MEXICANS, AND THE ADMIRATION OF TRAVELLERS. IT HAS AN AREA OF TWELVE ACRES; UNLUCKILY, THIS F SPACE, WHICH IN ENGLAND WOULD BE COVERED WITH VERDANT TURF, SHRUBS, AND FLOWERS, IS COVERED ONLY WITH PAVEMENT. BUT THE BUILDINGS ARE ON A NOBLE SCALE. THE CATHEDRAL FILLS ONE WHOLE SIDE OF THE SQUARE, THE PALACE ANOTHER, AND THE SITES OF BOTH ARE MEMORABLE AN HISTORICAL; THE CATHEDRAL STANDING ON THE GROUND WHERE ONCE STOOD THE GREAT IDOL TEMPLE, AND THE PALACE ON THE GROUND OF THE PALAC MONTEZUMA! THE LATTER BUILDING IS 500 FEET LONG, AND CONTAINS THE PUBLIC OFFICES, BESIDES THE APARTMENTS OF THE PRESIDENT. THE CATHEDR IS OF STRIKING GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, AND AFTER ALL THE PRESSURES AND PLUNDERINGS OF THE LATER PERIOD, STILL RETAINS IMMENSE WEALTH. THE ALTAR IS COVERED WITH PLATES OF SILVER, INTERSPERSED WITH ORNAMENTS OF MASSIVE GOLD. THIS ALTAR IS INCLOSED WITH A BALUSTRADE A HUNDRED FE LONG, NOT LESS PRECIOUS THAN THE HIGH ALTAR ITSELF. IT IS COMPOSED OF AN AMALGAM OF GOLD, SILVER, AND COPPER, RICHLY FLOURISHED AND FIGURED. IS SAID THAT AN OFFER HAD BEEN MADE TO PURCHASE IT AT ITS WEIGHT IN SILVER, GIVING HALF A MILLION OF DOLLARS BESIDES. OF THIS BALUSTRADE TH ARE NOT LESS IN THE BUILDING THAN 300 FEET. STATUES, VASES, AND HUGE CANDLESTICKS OF THE PRECIOUS METALS, MEET THE EYE EVERY WHERE; AND YET IT IS SAID THAT THE STILL MORE PRECIOUS PORTION OF THE TREASURE IS HIDDEN FROM THE POPULAR EYE. THE STREETS ARE WIDE, AND CROSS EAC OTHER AT RIGHT ANGLES, DIVIDING THE WHOLE CITY INTO SQUARES. BUT THE ROMISH HABIT OF GIVING THE MOST SACRED NAMES TO COMMON THINGS, I acted on in Mexico with most offensive familiarity. The names of the streets are instances of this profanation, which has existed wherever MONKS HAVE BEEN THE MASTERS. THUS, THE MEXICAN WILL TELL YOU THAT HE LIVES IN “JESUS,” OR IN THE “HOLY GHOST.” IN THE SPANISH NAVY TH MOST SACRED NAMES WERE SIMILARLY PROFANED; AND THE SANTISSIMA TRINIDADA (THE MOST HOLY TRINITY) WAS A FLAG-SHIP IN THE FLEET DESTROYE at Trafalgar. What blasphemies and brutalities must not have been mingled with this sacred name in the mouths of a crew! THE CHURCHES ARE THE CHIEF BUILDINGS IN THE CITY, SOME OF THEM OF GREAT SIZE, AND ALL FILLED WITH PLATE AND OTHER WEALTH. YET THE HOU EVEN OF THE MOST OPULENT FAMILIES, EXHIBIT SOME OF THE VILEST HABITS OF THE VILEST SOUTHERN CITIES OF EUROPE. TO PASS OVER OTHER MATTERS, THE WHOLE CITY THERE IS PERHAPS NOT A STABLE SEPARATE FROM THE HOUSE. THE STUD IS ON THE BASEMENT STORY, AND IT MAY BE CONCEIVED HOW REPULSIVE MUST BE THE EFFECTS OF SUCH AN ARRANGEMENT IN THE BURNING CLIMATE OF MEXICO! THE SERVANTS’ ROOMS ARE ALSO UPON THIS FLOOR; AND IN SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL HOUSES THE VISITORS HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THIS ROW OF STABLES AND SLEEPING ROOMS ON THEIR WAY TO THE CHIEF APARTMENTS. IN SOME, TOO, OF THE LARGER PRIVATE HOUSES, NO LESS THAN THIRTY OR FORTY FAMILIES RESIDE, EACH RENTING ONE OR TWO ROOMS, AN HAVING A COMMON STAIR OF EXIT TO THE STREET. THIS CROWDING OF FAMILIES IS PRODUCED, IN THE FIRST INSTANCE, BY THE NARROW LIMITS OF THE CIT WHICH IS SCARCELY MORE THAN TWO MILES IN LENGTH BY A MILE AND A HALF IN BREADTH; AND IN THE NEXT, BY THE LAZY HABITS OF THEIR SPAN ANCESTRY, WHICH STILL GATHERED THEM TOGETHER FOR THE SAKE OF GOSSIPING AND IDLING, AND WHICH SEEM EVERY WHERE TO HAVE HAD AN ABHORRENCE OF CLEANLINESS, OF FRESH AIR, AND OF THE SIGHT OF A FIELD; THE POPULATION THUS FESTERING ON EACH OTHER, WHILE THE COUNTRY ROUND THEM IS OPEN, HEALTHFUL, AND CHEERFUL. THE INHABITANTS, TO THE AMOUNT OF TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND, EVIDENTLY PREFER HALF SUFFOCATION IN AN ATMOSPHERE TORTURES THE NOSTRILS OF ALL STRANGERS; AND ARE CONTENT WITH THE DUST AND DIMNESS, THE HEAT AND THE EFFLUVIA, NATURALLY GENERATED BY A T sun acting upon a crowded population. IN ADDITION TO THIS VOLUNTARY OFFENCE, MEXICO HAS TWO NATURAL PLAGUES, INUNDATIONS AND EARTHQUAKES. THE CITY WAS ONCE A KIND O AMERICAN VENICE, WHOLLY SURROUNDED BY WATER, PENETRATED BY WATER, AND BUILT ON PILES IN THE WATER. A GIGANTIC CANAL, WHICH WAS TUNNELLED THROUGH ITS MOUNTAIN BARRIER IN THE BEGINNING OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, PARTIALLY DRAINED THE WATERS OF THE LAKES, AND LEF FIRM GROUND. BUT THE LAKES, FROM TIME TO TIME, TAKE THEIR REVENGE; CLOUDS OF A PECULIARLY OMINOUS ASPECT BEGIN TO ROLL ALONG THE MOUNTA UNTIL THEY BREAK DOWN IN A DELUGE. THEN THE GENIUS OF THE LAND OF MONKS EXHIBITS ITSELF, AND ALL THE BELLS IN THE CITY ARE RUNG, WHETHE FRIGHTEN THE TORRENT, OR TO PROPITIATE THE DEITY. BUT THE RAIN STILL COMES DOWN IN SHEETS, AND THE TORRENTS ROAR LOUDER. THE BELLS ME ENEMY BY STILL LOUDER PEALS. AT LENGTH THE CLOUDS ARE DRAINED, AND THE TORRENTS DISAPPEAR; THE BELLS HAVE THE PRAISE. THE CITY RECOVERS SPIRITS, FINDS THAT ITS TIME FOR BEING SWEPT FROM THE EARTH HAS NOT YET ARRIVED; THE SUN SHINES ONCE MORE, AND THE MONKS HAVE ALL THE CRED of this triumph over Satan and Nature. Mexico has its museum, and it contains some curiosities which could not be supplied in any other part of the world. They are almost WHOLLY MEXICAN. THE WEAPONS FOUND AMONG THE PEOPLE AT THE TIME OF THE CONQUEST: RUDE LANCES, DAGGERS, BOWS AND ARROWS, WITH THE NATIVE ARMOUR OF COTTON, AND THOSE WOODEN DRUMS WHICH THE OLD SPANIARDS SEEM TO HAVE DREADED MORE THAN THE ARMS. AMONG THEM IS THE MEXICAN “RAZOR SWORD,” A STAFF WITH FOUR PROJECTING BLADES, MADE OF VOLCANIC GLASS, AND BROUGHT TO SUCH SHARPNESS THAT A STROKE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CUT OFF A HORSE’S HEAD. IN THE MUSEUM THERE ARE SOME STILL MORE CURIOUS SPECIMENS OF THEIR MANUFACTURES, PAPER MADE FROM THE CACTUS, WITH MUCH OF THEIR HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING ON IT. ONE OF THESE ROLLS EXHIBITS THE MEXICAN IDEA OF THE DELUGE, AND AMO OTHER DETAILS SHOWS “THE BIRD WITH A BRANCH IN ITS CLAW.” IT IS SAID THAT THEY HAD TRADITIONS OF THE LEADING EVENTS FROM THE CREATION T DELUGE, NEARLY RESEMBLING THE MOSAIC HISTORY; BUT THAT FROM THE DELUGE DOWNWARDS ALL RECORDS HAVE ESCAPED THEM. BUT THE MUSEUM contains more modern and more characteristic remains. Among the rest, the armour of Cortes. 269 270 FROM ITS SIZE, ITS WEARER MUST HAVE BEEN A MAN OF SMALL STATURE, AND ABOUT THE SIZE OF NAPOLEON. THE ARMOUR OF THE BRAVE ALVARADO IS ALSO IN THE MUSEUM, AND IS EVEN SMALLER THAN THAT OF CORTES; BUT, AS A COVERING OF THE FORM, BOTH ARE COMPLETE. THE WEARER COULD HAVE BEEN VULNERABLE ONLY AT THE JOINTS; THE HORSE OF THE MAN-AT-ARMS WAS SIMILARLY PROTECTED, BEING IN FACT COVERED ALL OVER EITHER WITH STEE BULL’S HIDE. THE USE OF CANNON FINALLY PUT AN END TO THE WEARING OF ARMOUR, WHICH WAS FOUND TO BE USELESS AGAINST WEIGHT OF METAL. IT NOW PARTIALLY REVIVING IN THE CUIRASS, AND UNQUESTIONABLY OUGHT TO BE REVIVED AMONG THE INFANTRY SO FAR AS COVERING THE FRONT OF T SOLDIERS. THE IDEA IS CHILDISH THAT THIS WOULD DEGRADE THE INTREPIDITY OF THE TROOPS. THE ARMOUR OF KNIGHTHOOD DID NOT DEGRADE IT INTREPIDITY; THE CUIRASSES OF OUR DRAGOONS HAVE NOT DEGRADED THEIR INTREPIDITY; NOR WILL ANY MAN BE THE LESS DARING FROM THE SENSE THAT HE less exposed to the casualties of the field. A COLOSSAL BRONZE STATUE OF CHARLES IV. STANDS IN THE COURT-YARD OF THE MUSEUM, BUT ITS HISTORY IS OF HIGHER VALUE THAN ITS SUBJECT THAT HISTORY BEING, THAT IT WAS DESIGNED BY ONE NATIVE MEXICAN, AND CAST BY ANOTHER. THUS AT LEAST SHOWING THAT THE CULTIVATION OF THE arts is not impossible, even in Spanish America. THERE ALSO IS THE GREAT SACRIFICIAL STONE ON WHICH HUMAN VICTIMS BLED, A CIRCULAR MASS FOUR FEET HIGH AND EIGHT IN DIAMETER, WITH FIGUR IN RELIEF ELABORATELY CARVED ON THE TOP AND SIDES. ON THIS STONE SIXTY-TWO OF THE COMPANIONS OF CORTES WERE PUT TO DEATH BEFORE THE EYE of their countrymen. THE FINANCE OF MEXICO BECOMES A MATTER OF EUROPEAN IMPORTANCE, IN A PERIOD WHICH SHOULD BE CALLED THE “AGE OF LOANS.” THE DEBT IN 1844 WAS ABOUT ONE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, OF WHICH SIXTY MILLIONS ARE DUE TO FOREIGNERS. BUT THE TERRITORY IS EVIDENTLY RICHEST IN SILVER THAT THE WORLD HAS YET SEEN, AND POSSIBLY EXCEEDING IN MINERAL WEALTH ALL THE WORLD BESIDE, IF WE EXCEPT THE GOLD SANDS THE URAL, WHICH HAVE LATELY TEEMED WITH SUCH MARVELLOUS PRODUCE. HUMBOLDT RECKONED NO LESS THAN THREE THOUSAND SILVER MINES IN MEXICO IN THE YEAR 1804. BUT NOT ONE FIFTIETH OF THOSE MINES CONTINUE TO BE WORKED, A RESULT CAUSED BY THE DISTANCE OF QUICKSILVER IN TH MINES OF OLD SPAIN. THE MINES PRODUCE BUT LITTLE GOLD, AND THAT LITTLE IS GENERALLY FOUND IN COMBINATION WITH SILVER. BUT THE QUANT SILVER IS ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING. THE MINES STILL CONTINUE TO GIVE A PRODUCE AS LARGE AS IN ANY YEAR OF THE LAST TWO CENTURIES, IN WHI HUMBOLDT COMPUTES THE AVERAGE PRODUCE AT TWELVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY. BUT ALLOWING FOR THE QUANTITY NOTORIOUSLY SMUGGLED O THE COUNTRY, BESIDES THE EIGHTEEN MILLIONS AND A HALF OF GOLD AND SILVER ACTUALLY REGISTERED FOR EXPORTATION, THE PRODUCE MAY AMOUNT TWENTY-FOUR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YEARLY. THIS INCREASE EVIDENTLY ARISES FROM THE GREATER TRANQUILLITY OF THE COUNTRY; FOR IN THE TIMES O revolution, it frequently sank to three or four millions. THE AMERICAN WRITER FROM WHOM WE HAVE TAKEN THESE CALCULATIONS, CANNOT HELP BETRAYING THE PROPENSITY OF YANKEEISM, BY TALKING OF THE WONDERS WHICH WOULD BE DONE IN SUCH A COUNTRY IF IT WERE ONCE IN THE POSSESSION OF JONATHAN. HE THINKS THAT THE PRODUCE OF THE MINES WOULD BE “AT LEAST FIVE TIMES AS GREAT AS IT IS NOW,” THAT EVERY MINE WOULD BE WORKED, AND THAT MANY MORE WILL BE DISCOVERED. CALCULATING THE EXPORTS OF BRITISH PRODUCE AT TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YEARLY, HE THINKS THAT “MEXICO, IF IN FULL A WOULD EQUAL THAT AMOUNT IN TEN YEARS.” BUT HIS WORDS ARE MORE SIGNIFICANT STILL WITH RESPECT TO THE RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES. W TO REMEMBER THAT THOSE WORDS WERE WRITTEN PREVIOUSLY TO THE AGGRESSION WHICH HAS JUST TAKEN PLACE AGAINST MEXICO, AND WHICH THE AMERICANS PRETEND TO BE PERFECTLY INNOCENT AND JUSTIFIABLE. AND ALSO, THAT THEY ARE WRITTEN BY AN AMERICAN MINISTER. “RECEN MANIFESTATION,” SAYS THIS WRITER, “OF A RABID, NOT TO SAY RAPACIOUS SPIRIT OF ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY ON THE PART OF OUR COUNTRYMEN, MAY W CAUSE A RACE SO INFERIOR IN ALL THE ELEMENTS OF POWER TO TREMBLE FOR THE TENURE BY WHICH THEY HOLD THIS ELDORADO. IT IS NOT OFTEN, W NATIONS AT LEAST, THAT SUCH TEMPTATIONS ARE RESISTED, OR THAT ‘DANGER WINKS ON OPPORTUNITY.’ I TRUST, HOWEVER, THAT OUR MAXIM EVER WILL ‘NOBLE ENDS BY WORTHY MEANS,’ AND THAT WE MAY REMEMBER THAT WEALTH IMPROPERLY ACQUIRED NEVER ULTIMATELY BENEFITED AN INDIVIDUAL OR A nation.” THOSE ARE WISE AND JUST SENTIMENTS. BUT WE UNLUCKILY SEE THE PRACTICAL MORALITY OF THE AMERICANS ON THE SUBJECT, IN THE INVASION O the territory, and the slaughter of the natives. THE MINERAL PRODUCE IS NOT CONFINED TO GOLD AND SILVER. NO COUNTRY PRODUCES LARGER MASSES OF THAT IRON WHICH SO MUCH BETTER deserves the name of precious metal, if we are to estimate its value by its use. And tin, lead, and copper are also found in large masses. THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL, WHERE IT RECEIVES ANY TOLERABLE CULTIVATION, IS ALSO REMARKABLE, AND TWO CROPS MAY BE RAISED IN ONE YEAR. B THE FARMERS HAVE NEITHER CAPITAL NOR INCLINATION TO CULTIVATE THE SOIL. HAVING NO MARKET, THEY HAVE NO USE FOR THEIR SUPERFLUITY, AND THER THEY RAISE NO SUPERFLUITY. A CONSIDERABLE PORTION OF THE WHOLE TERRITORY IS ALSO DISTRIBUTED INTO IMMENSE PASTURES OF EIGHTY OR A HUNDR thousand cattle, and fifteen or twenty thousand mules and horses, the grass being green all the year round, and those animals being left to THE COURSE OF NATURE. YET, EXCEPT WHEN THERE IS A GOVERNMENT DEMAND TO MOUNT THE CAVALRY, THOSE IMMENSE HERDS OF HORSES SELDOM FIND A PURCHASER, NEARLY ALL AGRICULTURAL WORK BEING DONE BY OXEN. HORSES ARE SOLD AT FROM EIGHT TO TEN DOLLARS A-PIECE. BUT THE MEXICA exhibit the old Spanish preference for mules and a pair of handsome carriage mules will cost one thousand dollars. THUS, IN ALL THE PRECIOUS PRODUCTS OF THE EARTH, MEXICO MAY STAND RIVALRY WITH THE MOST FAVOURED NATIONS. IT IS THE LAND OF THE COCHINEAL; IT PRODUCES ALL THE RICE WHICH IS REQUIRED FOR THE FOOD OF THE PEOPLE; THE SILK-WORM MIGHT THERE BE MULTIPLIED TO ANY EXTE cotton can be raised in almost every province to a boundless amount. The high grounds are covered with fine timber, and, where nothing ELSE IS PRODUCED, BEE’S-WAX ABOUNDS; THIS IS CONSUMED CHIEFLY IN THE CHURCHES, WHERE A PART OF THEIR RELIGION CONSISTS IN KEEPING CANDLES PERPETUALLY BURNING. YET THE MEXICAN BEE-MASTERS ARE AS CARELESS AS THE REST OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN, AND THEY DO NOT PRODUCE WAX ENOUGH for this holy ignition, and great quantities are imported accordingly. THE HISTORY OF MEXICO, SINCE THE SPANISH CONQUEST, IS A COMBINATION OF...