Distant View of Vera Cruz--Pilots--Boat from the City--Mutual
Salutes--Approach to Vera Cruz--Crowd on the Wharf--House of Dionisio
V---o--Guard of Honour--German Piano--Supper--Madonna--Aspect of the
City--_Sopilotes_--Deliberations--General Guadalupe Victoria--Two-headed
Eagle--Dilapidated Saint--Harp--Theatre--Donna Inocencia
Martinez--Invitation from General Santa Anna.
VERA CRUZ, 18th.
This morning, the sanguine hoped, and the desponding feared, for the wind,
though inclined to _la brisa_, seemed unlikely to prove sufficiently strong
to enable us to reach Vera Cruz--this being the twenty-fifth day since we
left Havana; a voyage that, with a steamer, might be performed in three
days, and with a sailing-vessel and a fair wind, is made in six or seven.
About noon, the aspect of things became more favourable. The breeze grew
stronger, and with it our hopes.
At last appeared in view, faintly, certain spires beside the low sandy
land, which for some time we had anxiously watched, and at length we could
distinguish houses and churches, and the fort of San Juan de Ulua, of
warlike memory. By slow but sure degrees, we neared the shore, until Vera
Cruz, in all its ugliness, became visible to our much-wearied eyes. We had
brought a pilot from Havana to guide us to these dangerous coasts, but
though a native of these parts, it seemed that a lapse of years had blunted
his memory, for we had nearly run upon the rocks. A gun was therefore
fired, and another pilot came out, who at sight of the Spanish flag waxed
enthusiastic, and pointing out the castle to our ignorant friend,
exclaimed, alluding to the desperate struggle made by the Spaniards to
defend this their last stronghold at the end of the war, "_We_, although
but a handful of men, defended ourselves for years like soldiers, and now
these Frenchmen took it in three days!" and, walking about in a transport
of patriotic despair, he seemed to forget his actual duty in the tide of
remembrances which the sight of Spanish colours and a Spanish crew had
called forth.
Anything more melancholy, _delabre_ and forlorn, than the whole appearance
of things as we drew near, cannot well be imagined. On one side, the fort,
with its black and red walls: on the other, the miserable, black-looking
city, with hordes of large black birds, called _sopilotes_, hovering over
some dead carcass, or flying heavily along in search of carrion. Still, as
the goal of our voyage, even its dreary aspect was welcome, and the very
hills of red sand by which it is surrounded, and which look like the
deserts of Arabia, appeared inviting.
A boat full of cocked hats was now seen approaching from the city,
containing the Consul in full uniform, and other authorities. C---n having
sent for and obtained permission from the Governor, to permit the Jason,
contrary to established usages, to anchor beneath the castle, a salute of
twenty guns was fired from our ship. Being upon deck, I was nearly
suffocated with smoke and powder. A salute of the same number of cannon was
then fired from the castle, in honour of the first Spanish man-of-war that
has appeared in this port since the Revolution.
And now we prepared, before the sun went down, to leave our watery prison;
and the captain's boat being manned, and having taken leave of the
officers, we, that is, C---n, the commander, and I, and my French maid and
her French poodle, got into it. Then came a salute of twenty guns from the
Jason in our honour, and we rode off amidst clouds of smoke. Then the fort
gave us welcome with the same number of guns, and, amidst all this
cannonading, we were landed at the wharf.
A singular spectacle the wharf presented. A crowd, as far as the eye could
reach, of all ages and sexes of Vera Cruzians (and a very curious set they
seemed to be), were assembled to witness his Excellency's arrival. Some had
no pantaloons; and others, to make up for their neighbours' deficiencies,
had two pair--the upper slit up the side of the leg, Mexican fashion. All
had large hats, with silver or bead rolls, and every tinge of dark
complexion, from the pure Indian, upwards. Some dresses were entirely
composed of rags, clinging together by the attraction of cohesion; others
had only a few holes to let in the air. All were crowding, jostling, and
nearly throwing each other into the water, and gazing with faces of intense
curiosity.
But a plume of coloured feathers was seen towering above the
copper-coloured crowd, and immediate passage was made for an aide-de-camp
from the Governor, General Guadalupe Victoria. He was an immensely tall
man, in a showy uniform all covered with gold, with colossal epaulets and a
towering plume of rainbow-coloured feathers. He brought to C---n the
welcome and congratulations of the General, and those Spanish offers of
service and devotion which sound agreeably, whatever be their true value.
We now began to move through the crowd, which formed a line on either side
to let us pass, and entered the streets of Vera Cruz, which were crowded,
balconies and all, and even roofs with curious faces. The guard formed as
we passed, and struck up a march. The principal street is wide and clean,
and we reached the house of Señor V---o, a rich merchant, formerly consul,
where we are to reside, followed to the door by the whole population. We
were received with great hospitality, and found excellent rooms prepared
for us. The house is immensely large and airy, built in a square as they
all are, but with that unfurnished melancholy look, which as yet this style
of house has to me, though admirably adapted to the climate.
A guard of honour sent by General Victoria, trotted into the courtyard,
whose attendance C---n declined with thanks, observing that his mission had
for object to terminate the coolness hitherto existing between two families
of brothers; that between members of the same family there was nothing to
fear, and all compliments were unnecessary.
I found a German piano in the drawing-room, on which I was glad to put my
fingers after a month's abstinence. A number of gentlemen came in the
evening to visit C---n. We were received by this family with so much real
kindness, that we soon found ourselves perfectly at home. We had a
plentiful supper--fish, meat, wine, and chocolate, fruit and sweetmeats;
the cookery, Spanish _Vera-Cruzified_. A taste of the style was enough for
me, garlic and oil enveloping meat, fish, and fowl, with pimentos and
plantains, and all kinds of curious fruit, which I cannot yet endure. Bed
was not unwelcome, and most comfortable beds we had, with mosquito
curtains, and sheets and pillows all trimmed with rich lace, so universal
in Spanish houses, that it is not, as with us, a luxury. But the mosquitoes
had entered in some unguarded moment, and they and the heat were inimical
to sleep.
19th.--I opened my eyes this morning on the painting of a very lovely
Madonna, which hung unvalued and ill-framed, in one corner of the
apartment. At eight, rose and dressed, and went to breakfast. Here, when
there are two guests whom they wish to distinguish, the gentleman is placed
at the head of the table, and _his_ lady beside him.
To me nothing can exceed the sadness of the aspect of this city and of its
environs--mountains of moving sand, formed by the violence of the north
winds, and which, by the reflection of the sun's rays, must greatly
increase the suffocating heat of the atmosphere. The scene may resemble the
ruins of Jerusalem, though without its sublimity. The houses seemed
blackened by fire; there is not a carriage on the streets--nothing but the
men with the wide trousers slit up the side of the leg, immense hats, and
blankets, or _sarapes_, merely a closed blanket, more or less fine, with a
hole for the head to go through; and the women with _reboses_, long
coloured cotton scarfs, or pieces of ragged stuff, thrown over the head and
crossing over the left shoulder. Add to this, the sopilotes cleaning the
streets,--disgusting, but useful scavengers. These valuable birds have
black feathers, with gray heads, beaks, and feet. They fly in troops, and
at night perch upon the trees. They are not republican, nor do they appear
inclined to declare their independence, having kings, to whom it is said
they pay so much respect, that if one of the royal species arrives at the
same time with a plebeian sopilote, in sight of a dead body, the latter
humbly waits till the sovereign has devoured his share, before he ventures
to approach.
A few ladies in black gowns and mantillas called this morning, and various
men. We find the weather sultry. In summer, with greater heat and the
addition of the _vomito_, it must be a chosen city! The principal street,
where we live, is very long and wide, and seems to have many good houses in
it. Nearly opposite is one which seems particularly well kept and handsome,
and where we saw beautiful flowers as we passed. I find it belongs to an
English merchant.
There is much deliberation as to the mode in which we are to travel to
Mexico. Some propose a coach, others a _litera_; others advise us to take
the diligence. While in this indecision, we had a visit this morning from a
remarkable-looking character, Don Miguel S----, agent for the diligence
office in Mexico, a tall, dark, energetic-looking person. He recommends the
diligence, and offers, by accompanying us, to ensure our safety from
accidents. He appears right. The diligence goes in four days, if it does
not break down. The coach takes any time we choose over that; the _literas_
nine or ten days, going slowly on mules with a sedan-chair motion. The
diligence has food and beds provided for it at the inns--the others
nothing. I am in favour of the diligence.
The couple from Havana, whom we passed in the _goleta_, have very coolly
requested permission to accompany us to Mexico, "under the protection of
the _Embajador de Espana_." We should set off in select company.
C---n called this morning on General Victoria. Found his excellency in a
large hall without furniture or ornament of any sort, without even chairs,
and altogether in a style of more than republican simplicity. He has just
returned the visit, accompanied by his colossal aide-de-camp.
General Guadalupe Victoria is perhaps the last man in a crowd whom one
would fix upon as being the owner of the above high-sounding cognomen,
which in fact is not his original, but his assumed name, _Guadalupe_ being
adopted by him in honour of the renowned image of the virgin of that name,
and _Victoria_ with less humility to commemorate his success in battle. He
is an honest, plain, down-looking citizen, lame and tall, somewhat at a
loss for conversation, apparently amiable and good-natured, but certainly
neither courtier nor orator; a man of undeniable bravery, capable of
supporting almost incredible hardships, humane, and who has always proved
himself a sincere lover of what he considered liberty, without ever having
been actuated by ambitious or interested motives.
It is said that his defects were indolence, want of resolution, and too
much reliance on his own knowledge. He is the only Mexican president who
finished as chief magistrate, the term prescribed by the laws. It is
alleged, in proof of his simplicity, though I think it is too absurd to be
true, that having received a despatch with the two-headed eagle on the
seal, he remarked to the astonished envoy who delivered it--"Our arms are
very much alike, only I see that his majesty's eagles have two heads. I
have heard that some of that species exist here, in _tierre caliente_, and
shall have one sent for."
The general is not married, but appears rather desirous of entering the
united state. He strongly recommends us to avoid broken bones by going it
literas, at least as far as Jalapa. Having stumbled about for some time in
search of his cocked-hat, it was handed to him by his aide-de-camp, and he
took leave.
We walked out in the evening to take a look of the environs, with Señor
V---o, the commander of the Jason, and several young ladies of the house.
We walked in the direction of an old church, where it is or was the custom
for young ladies desirous of being married to throw a stone at the saint,
their fortune depending upon the stone's hitting him, so that he is in a
lapidated and dilapidated condition. Such environs! the surrounding houses
black with smoke of powder or with fire--a view of bare red sandhills all
round--not a tree, or shrub, or flower, or bird, except the horrid black
sopilote, or police-officer. All looks as if the prophet Jeremiah had
passed through the city denouncing woe to the dwellers thereof. Such a
melancholy, wholly deserted-looking burial-ground as we saw!
War and revolutions have no doubt done their work, yet I find difficulty in
believing those who speak of Vera Cruz as having been a gay and delightful
residence in former days, though even now, those who have resided here for
any length of time, even foreigners, almost invariably become attached to
it; and as for those born here, they are the truest of patriots, holding up
Vera Cruz as superior to all other parts of the world.
The city was founded by the Viceroy, Count de Monterey, at the end of the
seventeenth century, and ought not to be confounded, as it sometimes is,
with either of the two colonies founded by the first Spaniards. Built in
front of the island of San Juan de Ulua, it has one interesting
recollection attached to it, since on the same arid shores, Cortes
disembarked more than three centuries ago. Unlike the green and fertile
coast which gladdened the eyes of Columbus, the Spanish conqueror beheld a
bleak and burning desert, whose cheerless aspect might well have deterred a
feebler mind from going further in search of the paradise that existed
behind.
We returned to the house, and heard some ladies play upon a harp, so
called, a small, light instrument in that form, but without pedals, so
light, that they can lift it with one hand; and yet the music they bring
from it is surprising; one air after another, a little monotonously, but
with great ease and a certain execution, and with the additional merit of
being self-taught.
I imagine that there must be a great deal of musical taste thrown away
here. There are pianos in almost every house, and one lady, who came to see
me to-day, and whose mother was English, had been extremely well taught,
and played with great taste. They attempted dancing, but having no masters,
can only learn by what they _hear_. On the balcony this evening, it was
delightful, and the moon is a universal beautifier.
21st.--We walked about the city yesterday, and returned visits. The streets
are clean, and some few churches tolerably handsome.
The _Comicos_ came in the morning to offer us the centre box in the
theatre, it being the benefit night of Donna Inocencia Martinez from
Madrid, a favourite of the public, and, in fact, a pretty woman and good
comic actress. The theatre is small, and, they say, generally deserted, but
last night it was crowded. The drop-scene represents the fine arts, who are
so fat, that their condition here must be flourishing. We were, however,
agreeably disappointed in the performance, which was the "Segunda Dama
Duende," nearly a translation from the "Domino Noir," and very amusing;
full of excellent _coups-de-theatre_. Donna Inocencia in her various
characters, as domino, servant-girl, abbess, etc., was very handsome, and
acted with great spirit. Moreover, she and her sister, with two Spaniards,
danced the Jota Aragonesa in perfection, so that we spent a pleasant
evening, upon the whole, within the precincts of the city of the True
Cross.
To-morrow is the day fixed for our departure, and we shall not be sorry to
leave this place, although this house is excellent, a whole suite of rooms
given to us, and neither ceremony nor _gene_ of any sort. The weather is
certainly beautiful. The heat may be a little oppressive in the middle of
the day, but the evenings are cool and delightful.