Debut in Mexico--Cathedral--Temple of the Aztecs--Congregation--Stone of
Sacrifices--Palace--Importunate Léperos--Visit to the President--Countess
C---a--Street-cries--Tortilleras--_Sartor Resartus_.
I made my _début_ in Mexico by going to mass in the cathedral. We drove
through the Alameda, near which we live, and admired its noble trees,
flowers, and fountains, all sparkling in the sun. We met but few carriages
there, an occasional gentleman on horseback, and a few solitary-looking
people resting on the stone benches, also plenty of beggars, and the
_forçats_ in chains, watering the avenues. We passed through the Calle San
Francisco, the handsomest street in Mexico, both as to shops and houses
(containing, amongst others, the richly-carved but now half-ruined palace
of Yturbide), and which terminates in the great square where stand the
cathedral and the palace. The streets were crowded, it being a holiday; and
the purity of the atmosphere, with the sun pouring down upon the
bright-coloured groups, and these groups so picturesque, whether of
soldiers or monks, peasants or veiled ladies; the very irregularity of the
buildings, the number of fine churches and old convents, and everything on
so grand a scale, even though touched by the finger of time, or crushed by
the iron heel of revolution, that the attention is constantly kept alive,
and the interest excited.
The carriage drew up in front of the cathedral, built upon the site of part
of the ruins of the great temple of the Aztecs; of that pyramidal temple,
constructed by _Ahuitzotli_, the sanctuary so celebrated by the Spaniards,
and which comprehended with all its different edifices and sanctuaries, the
ground on which the cathedral now stands, together with part of the plaza
and streets adjoining.
We are told, that within its enclosure were five hundred dwellings, that
its hall was built of stone and lime, and ornamented with stone serpents.
We hear of its four great gates, fronting the four cardinal points of its
stone-paved court, great stone stairs, and sanctuaries dedicated to the
gods of war; of the square destined for religious dances, and the colleges
for the priests, and seminaries for the priestesses; of the horrible
temple, whose door was an enormous serpent's mouth; of the temple of
mirrors and that of shells; of the house set apart for the emperor's
prayers; of the consecrated fountains, the birds kept for sacrifice, the
gardens for the holy flowers, and of the terrible towers composed of the
skulls of the victims--strange mixture of the beautiful and the horrible!
We are told that five thousand priests chanted night and day in the Great
Temple, to the honour and in the service of the monstrous idols, who were
anointed thrice a day with the most precious perfumes; and that of these
priests the most austere were clothed in black, their long hair dyed with
ink, and their bodies anointed with the ashes of burnt scorpions and
spiders; their chiefs were the sons of kings.
It is remarkable, by the way, that their god of war, _Mejitli_, was said to
have been born of a woman, _a Holy Virgin_, who was in the service of the
temple; and that when the priests, having knowledge of her disgrace, would
have stoned her, a voice was heard, saying, "Fear not, mother, for I shall
save thy honour and my glory," upon which the god was born, with a shield
in his left hand, an arrow in his right, a plume of green feathers on his
head, his face painted blue, and his left leg adorned with feathers! Thus
was his gigantic statue represented.
There were gods of the Water, of the Earth, of Night, Fire, and Hell;
goddesses of Flowers and of Corn: there were oblations offered of bread and
flowers and jewels, but we are assured that from twenty to fifty thousand
human victims were sacrificed annually in Mexico alone! That these accounts
are exaggerated, even though a bishop is among the narrators, we can
scarcely doubt; but if the tenth part be truth, let the memory of Cortes be
sacred, who, with the cross, stopped the shedding of innocent blood,
founded the cathedral on the ruins of the temple which had so often
resounded with human groans, and in the place of these blood-smeared idols
enshrined the mild form of the Virgin.
Meanwhile we entered the Christian edifice, which covers an immense space
of ground, is of the Gothic form, with two lofty ornamented towers, and is
still immensely rich in gold, silver, and jewels. A balustrade running
through it, which was brought from China, is said to be very valuable, but
seems to me more curious than beautiful. It is a composition of brass and
silver. Not a soul was in the sacred precincts this morning but miserable
_léperos_, in rags and blankets, mingled with women in ragged
_rebosos_;--at least a sprinkling of ladies with mantillas was so very
slight, that I do not think there were half a dozen in all. The floor is so
dirty that one kneels with a feeling of horror, and an inward determination
to effect as speedy a change of garments afterwards as possible. Besides,
many of my Indian neighbours were engaged in an occupation which I must
leave to your imagination; in fact, relieving their heads from the pressure
of the colonial system, or rather, eradicating and slaughtering the
colonists, who swarm there like the emigrant Irish in the United States. I
was not sorry to find myself once more in the pure air after mass; and have
since been told that, except on peculiar ocasions, and at certain hours,
few ladies perform their devotions in the cathedral. I shall learn all
these particulars in time.
We saw, as we passed out, the Aztec Calendar,--a round stone covered with
hieroglyphics, which is still preserved and fastened on the outside of the
cathedral. We afterwards saw the Stone of Sacrifices, now in the courtyard
of the university, with a hollow in the middle, in which the victim was
laid, while six priests, dressed in red, their heads adorned with plumes of
green feathers (they must have looked like macaws), with gold and green
earrings, and blue stones in their upper lips, held him down while the
chief priest cut open his breast, threw his heart at the feet of the idol,
and afterwards put it into his mouth with a golden spoon. They then cut off
his head, to make use of it in building the tower of skulls, eat some parts
of him, and either burnt the rest, or threw it to the wild beasts who were
maintained in the palace.
These interesting particulars occurred to us as we looked at the stone, and
we were not sorry to think that it is now more ornamental than useful.
After leaving the cathedral, C---n fastened on his orders in the carriage,
as this day was appointed for his presentation to the President, and we
drove to the place, where I left him, and returned home. He was received
with great etiquette, a band of music playing in the court, the President
in full uniform, surrounded by all his Ministers and aides-de-camp,
standing before a throne, under a velvet dais, his feet upon a tabouret,
the whole being probably the same as was used by the viceroys. _Viva la
Republica!_ C---n made a discourse to him, and he made one in return, both
of which may be found by those who are curious in these matters, in the
_Díario_ of the 31st December....
Whilst I am writing a horrible lépero, with great leering eyes, is looking
at me through the windows, and performing the most extraordinary series of
groans, displaying at the same time a hand with two long fingers, probably
the other three tied in. "Señorita! Señorita! For the love of the most Holy
Virgin! For the sake of the most pure blood of Christ! By the miraculous
Conception!--" The wretch! I dare not look up, but I feel that his eyes are
fixed upon a gold watch and seals lying on the table. That is the worst of
a house on the ground floor.... There come more of them! A paralytic woman
mounted on the back of a man with a long beard. A sturdy-looking
individual, who looks as if, were it not for the iron bars, he would resort
to more effective measures, is holding up a _deformed foot,_ which I verily
believe is merely fastened back in some extraordinary way. What groans!
what rags! what a chorus of whining! This concourse is probably owing to
our having sent them some money yesterday. I try to take no notice, and
write on as if I were deaf. I must walk out of the room, without looking
behind me, and send the porter to disperse them. There are no bell-ropes in
these parts....
I come back again to write, hardly recovered from the start that I have
just got. I had hardly written the last words, when I heard a footstep near
me, and, looking up, lo! there was my friend with _the foot,_ standing
within a yard of me, his hand stretched out for alms! I was so frightened,
that for a moment I thought of giving him my watch, to get rid of him.
However, I glided past him with a few unintelligible words, and rushed to
call the servants; sending him some money by the first person who came. The
porter, who had not seen him pass, is now dispersing the crowd. What
vociferous exclamations! A---- has come in and drawn the curtains, and I
think they are going off.
Yesterday evening I was taken to visit the President. The palace is an
immense building, containing, besides the apartments of the President and
his Ministers, all the chief courts of justice. It occupies one side of the
square, but is no way remarkable in its architecture. At the end of every
flight of steps that we mounted we came upon lounging soldiers, in their
yellow cloaks, and women in rebosos, standing about. We passed through a
hall filled with soldiers, into the antechamber, where we were received by
several aides-de-camp, who conducted us into a very well-furnished room,
where we sat a few minutes, till an officer came to lead us into the
reception-room, which is a handsome apartment, about a hundred feet long,
and fitted up with crimson and gold, also well lighted. General Bustamante,
now in plain clothes, gave us a very cordial reception.
He looks like a good man, with an honest, benevolent face, frank and simple
in his manners, and not at all like a hero. His conversation was not
brilliant, indeed I do not know apropos to what, I suppose to the climate,
but it chiefly turned on _medicine_. There cannot be a greater contrast,
both in appearance and reality, than between him and Santa Anna. There is
no lurking devil in his eye. All is frank, open, and unreserved. It is
impossible to look in his face without believing him to be an honest and
well-intentioned man. An unprincipled but clever writer has said of him,
that he has no great capacity or superior genius; but that, whether from
reflection or from slowness of comprehension, he is always extremely calm
in his determinations: that, before entering into any project, he inquires
and considers deeply as to whether it be just or not; but that once
convinced that it is or appears to be so, he sustains his ground with
firmness and constancy. He adds, that it suits him better to obey than to
command; for which reason he was always so devoted a servant of the
Spaniards and of Yturbide.
He is said to be a devoted friend, is honest to a proverb, and personally
brave, though occasionally deficient in moral energy. He is therefore an
estimable man, and one who will do his duty to the best of his ability,
though whether he has severity and energy sufficient for those evil days in
which it is his lot to govern, may be problematical.
Having made a sufficiently long visit to his Excellency, we went to return
that of the Countess C----, who has a magnificent house, with suites of
large rooms, of which the drawing-room is particularly handsome, of immense
size, the walls beautifully painted, the subjects religious, and where I
found one of Broadwood's finest grand pianos. But although there are
cabinets inlaid with gold, fine paintings, and hundreds of rich and curious
things, our European eyes are struck with numerous inconsistencies in
dress, servants, etc., in all of which there is a want of keeping very
remarkable. Yet this house, and the one adjoining, which also belongs to
the family, are palaces in vastness, and the Countess receives me more as
if I were her daughter, than a person with whom she has been acquainted but
a few days.
There are an extraordinary number of street-cries in Mexico, which begin at
dawn and continue till night, performed by hundreds of discordant voices,
impossible to understand at first; but Señor ----- has been giving me an
explanation of them, until I begin to have some distinct idea of their
meaning. At dawn you are awakened by the shrill and desponding cry of the
Carbonero, the coalmen, "Carbón, Señor?" which, as he pronounces it, sounds
like "Carbosiu?" Then the grease-man takes up the song, "Mantequilla! lard!
lard! at one real and a half." "Salt beef! good salt beef!" ("Cecina
buena!") interrupts the butcher in a hoarse voice. "Hay cebo-o-o-o-o-o?"
This is the prolonged and melancholy note of the woman who buys kitchen-
stuff, and stops before the door. Then passes by the _cambista,_ a sort of
Indian she-trader or exchanger, who sings out, "Tejocotes por venas de
chile?" a small fruit which she proposes exchanging for hot peppers. No
harm in that.
A kind of ambulating pedler drowns the shrill treble of the Indian cry. He
calls aloud upon the public to buy needles, pins, thimbles, shirt-buttons,
tape, cotton-balls, small mirrors, etc. He enters the house, and is quickly
surrounded by the women, young and old, offering him the tenth part of what
he asks, and which, after much haggling, he accepts. Behind him stands the
Indian with his tempting baskets of fruit, of which he calls out all the
names, till the cook or housekeeper can resist no longer, and putting her
head over the balustrade, calls him up with his bananas, and oranges, and
granaditas, etc.
A sharp note of interrogation is heard, indicating something that is hot,
and must be snapped up quickly before it cools. "Gorditas de horna
caliente?" "Little fat cakes from the oven, hot?" This is in a female key,
sharp and shrill. Follows the mat-seller. "Who wants mats from Puebla? mats
of five yards?" These are the most matinal cries.
At midday the beggars begin to be particularly importunate, and their
cries, and prayers, and long recitations, form a running accompaniment to
the other noises. Then above all rises the cry of "Honey-cakes!" "Cheese
and honey?" "Requesón and good honey?" (_Requesón_ being a sort of hard
curd, sold in cheeses.) Then come the dulce-men, the sellers of sweetmeats,
of meringues, which are very good, and of all sorts of candy. "Caramelos de
esperma! bocadillo de coco!" Then the lottery-men, the messengers of
Fortune, with their shouts of "The last ticket yet unsold, for half a
real!" a tempting announcement to the lazy beggar, who finds it easier to
gamble than to work, and who may have that sum hid about his rags.
Towards evening rises the cry of "Tortillas de cuajada?" "Curd-cakes?" or,
"Do you take nuts?" succeeded by the night-cry of "Chestnuts hot and
roasted!" and by the affectionate vendors of ducks; "Ducks, oh my soul, hot
ducks!" "Maize-cakes," etc., etc. As the night wears away, the voices die
off, to resume next morning in fresh vigour.
Tortillas, which are the common food of the people, and which are merely
maize cakes mixed with a little lime, and of the form and size of what we
call _scones_, I find rather good when very hot and fresh-baked, but
insipid by themselves. They have been in use all through this country since
the earliest ages of its history, without any change in the manner of
baking them, excepting that, for the noble Mexicans in former days, they
used to be kneaded with various medicinal plants, supposed to render them
more wholesome. They are considered particularly palatable with _chile_, to
endure which, in the quantities in which it is eaten here, it seems to me
necessary to have a throat lined with tin.
In unpacking some books to-day, I happened to take up "_Sartor Resartus_,"
which, by a curious coincidence, opened of itself, to my great delight, at
the following passage:
"The simplest costume," observes our Professor, "which I anywhere find
alluded to in history, is that used as regimental by Bolivar's cavalry, in
the late Columbian wars. A square blanket, twelve feet in diagonal, is
provided, (some were wont to cut off the corners, and make it circular;) in
the centre a slit is effected, eighteen inches long; through this the
mother-naked trooper introduces his head and neck; and so rides, shielded
from all weather, and in battle from many strokes (for he rolls it about
his left arm); and not only dressed, but harnessed and draperied." Here
then we find the true "Old Roman contempt of the superfluous," which seems
rather to meet the approbation of the illustrious Professor Teufelsdroch.