In the political world nothing very interesting has occurred and as yet
there is no change of ministry. Yesterday morning C---n set off in a
coach-and-six for the valley of Toluca, about eighteen leagues from Mexico,
with a rich Spaniard, Señor M---r y T---n, who has a large hacienda there.
Last Sunday morning, being the first Sunday since the revolution, we had
forty visitors--ladies and gentlemen, English, French, Spanish, and
Mexican. Such varieties of dresses and languages I have seldom seen united
in one room; and so many anecdotes connected with the _pronunciamento_ as
were related, some grave, some ludicrous, that would form a volume! The
Baron de ----- having just left this for your part of the world, you will
learn by him the last intelligence of it and of us.
As there is a want of rain, the Virgen de los Remedios was brought into
Mexico, but as there is still a slight ripple on the face of the
lately-troubled waters, she was carried in privately--for all reunions of
people are dreaded at this juncture, I had just prepared pieces of velvet
and silk to hang on the balconies, when I found that the procession had
gone by a back street after sunset.
I went lately to visit the nuns of the _Encarnación_, to inquire how they
stood their alarms, for their convent had been filled with soldiers, and
they had been in the very heart of the firing. I was welcomed by a figure
covered from head to foot with a double black crape veil, who expressed
great joy at _seeing_ me again, and told me she was one of the madres who
received us before. She spoke with horror of the late revolution, and of
the state of fear and trembling in which they had passed their time;
soldiers within their very walls, and their prayers interrupted by volleys
of cannon. Thanks to the intercession of the Virgin, no accident had
occurred; but she added, that had the Virgin of los Remedios been brought
in sooner, these disorders might never have taken place.
I went from thence to the convent of Santa Teresa, where I saw no one, but
discoursed with a number of _voices_, from the shrill treble of the old
_Madre Priora_, to the full cheerful tones of my friend the Madre A----.
There is something rather awful in sending one's voice in this way into an
unknown region, and then listening for a response from the unseen dwellers
there. I have not yet been inside this convent, but now that affairs are
settled for the present, I trust that the archbishop will kindly grant his
permission to that effect.
The rainy season is now at its height; that is, it rains severely every
evening, but in the morning it is lovely. The disagreeable part of it is,
that the roads are so bad, it is difficult to continue our rides in the
environs. Horse and rider, after one of these expeditions, appear to have
been taking a mud-bath. It is very amusing to stand at the window about
four o'clock, and see every one suddenly caught in the most tremendous
shower. In five minutes the streets become rivers; and canoes would be
rather more useful than carriages. Strong porters (_cargadores_) are in
readiness to carry well-dressed gentlemen or women who are caught in the
deluge, across the streets. Coachmen and footmen have their great-coats
prepared to draw on; and all horsemen have their sarapes strapped behind
their saddles, in which, with their shining leather hats, they can brave
the storm. Trusting to an occasional cessation of rain, which sometimes
takes place, people continue to go out in the evening, but it is downright
cruelty to coachmen and animals, unless the visit is to a house with a
_porte-cochère_, which many of the houses have--this amongst others.
September 1st.--Had a dispute this morning with an Englishman, who
complains bitterly of Mexican insincerity. I believe the chief cause of
this complaint amongst foreigners consists in their attaching the slightest
value to the common phrase, "_Está a la disposición de V._" Everything is
placed at your disposal--house, carriage, servants, horses, mules,
etc.--the lady's earrings, the gentleman's diamond pin, the child's frock.
You admire a ring--it is perfectly at your service; a horse--ditto. Letters
are dated "from your house;" (_de la casa de V._) Some from ignorance of
the custom, and others from knavery, take advantage of these offers, which
are mere expressions of civility, much to the confusion and astonishment of
the polite _offerer_, who has no more intention of being credited, than you
have when, from common etiquette, you sign yourself the very humble servant
of the very greatest bore. It is a mere habit, and to call people who
indulge in it insincere, reminds me of the Italian mentioned somewhere by
Lady Blessington, who thought he had made a conquest of a fair
Englishwoman, though somewhat shocked by her forwardness, because, in an
indifferent note to him, she signed herself "_Truly yours_." Shall I ever
forget the crestfallen countenance of a Mexican gentleman who had just
purchased a very handsome set of London harness, when hearing it admired by
a Frenchman, he gave the customary answer, "It is quite at your disposal,"
and was answered by a profusion of bows, and a ready acceptance of the
offer! the only difficulty with the Frenchman being as to whether or not he
could carry it home under his cloak, which he did.
If all these offers of service, in which it is Mexican etiquette to
indulge, be believed in--"Remember that I am here but to serve you"--"My
house and everything in it is quite at your disposal"--"Command me in all
things;" we shall of course be disappointed by finding that,
notwithstanding these reiterated assurances, we must hire a house for
ourselves, and even servants to wait on us; but take these expressions at
what they are worth, and I believe we shall find that people here are about
as sincere as their neighbours.
8th.--A good deal of surmise, because four Texian vessels are cruising in
the bay off Vera Cruz. There is also a good deal of political talk, but I
have no longer Madame de Stael's excuse for interfering in politics, which,
by the way, is a subject on which almost all Mexican women are well
informed; possessing practical knowledge, the best of all, like a lesson in
geography given by travelling. I fear we live in a Paradise Lost, which
will not be regained in our day....
My attention is attracted, while I write, by the apparition of a beautiful
girl in the opposite balcony, with hair of a golden brown hanging in masses
down to her feet. This is an uncommon colour here; but the hair of the
women is generally very long and fine. It rarely or never curls. We were
amused the other day in passing by a school of little boys and girls, kept
in a room on the first- floor of Señor -----'s house, to see the
schoolmistress, certainly not in a very elegant _dishabille_, marching up
and down with a spelling-book in her hand, her long hair hanging down, and
trailing on the floor a good half-yard behind her; while every time she
turned, she switched it round like a court-train....
You ask me about this climate, for -----. For one who, like her, is in
perfect health, I should think it excellent; and even an invalid has only
to travel a few hours, and he arrives at _tierra caliente_. This climate is
that of the tropics, raised some thousand feet above the level of the sea;
consequently there is an extreme purity and thinness of the atmosphere,
which generally affects the breathing at first. In some it causes an
oppression on the chest. On me, it had little effect, if any; and at all
events, the feeling goes off, after the first month or so. There is a
general tendency to nervous irritation, and to inflammatory complaints, and
during September and October, on account of the heavy rains and the drained
lakes on which part of the city is built, there is said to be a good deal
of ague. Since the time of the cholera in 1833, which committed terrible
ravages here, there has been no other epidemic. The smallpox indeed has
been very common lately, but it is owing to the carelessness of the common
people, or rather to their prejudice against having their children
vaccinated.
The nervous complaints of the ladies are an unfailing source of profit to
the sons of Galen, for they seem to be incurable. Having no personal
experience in these evils, I speak only from what I see in others. It
appears to me that the only fault of the climate consists in its being
monotonously perfect, which is a great drawback to easy and polite
conversation. The evening deluge is but a periodical watering of the earth,
from which it rises like Venus from the sea, more lovely and refreshed than
ever.
C---n has returned from Toluca, after an absence of eight days. Every one
is hurrying to the theatre just now, in spite of the rain, to see some
Spaniards, who are performing _tours de force_ there.
16th.--Celebration of the Day of Independence, Anniversary of the
"_Glorioso Grito de Dolores_," of September the 16th, 1810; of the
revolution begun thirty years ago, by the curate of the village of Dolores
in the province of Gunanajuato. "It is very easy," says Zavala, it is about
the most sensible remark, "to put a country into combustion, when it
possesses the elements of discord; but the difficulties of its re-
organization are infinite."
A speech was made by General Tornel in the Alameda. All the troops were
out--plenty of officers, monks, priests, and ladies, in full dress. We did
not go to hear the speech, but went to the E----'s house to see the
procession, which was very magnificent. The line of carriages was so deep,
that I thought we should never arrive. After all was over, we walked in the
Alameda, where temporary booths were erected, and the trees were hung with
garlands and flowers. The paseo in the evening was extremely gay; but I
cannot say that there appeared to be much enthusiasm or public spirit. They
say that the great difficulty experienced by the _Junta_, named on these
occasions for the preparation of these festivities, is to collect
sufficient funds.
19th.--We went yesterday to San Angelo, one of the prettiest villages in
the environs of Mexico, and spent the day at the hacienda of Señor T---e,
which is in the neighbourhood. The rain has rendered the roads almost
impassible, and the country round Mexico must be more like Cortes's
description of it at this season, than at any other period. One part of the
road near the hacienda, which is entirely destroyed, the owner of the house
wished to repair; but the Indians, who claim that part of the land, will
not permit the innovation, though he offered to throw a bridge over a small
stream which passes there, at his own expense.
24th.--We passed a pleasant day at Tacubaya, and dined with Monsieur S----,
who gave a fête in consequence of its being his wife's saint's day.
27th.--Great fête; being the anniversary of the day on which the army
called the _trigarante_ (the three guarantees) entered Mexico with Yturbide
at their head. The famous plan of Iguala, (so called from having been first
published in that city,) was also called the plan of the three guarantees;
freedom, union, and religion, which were offered as a security to the
Spaniards, against whom so many cruelties had been exercised. We have had
ringing of bells and firing all the morning, and in the evening there is to
be a bull-fight, followed by the exhibition of the _tours de force_ of
these Spaniards, commonly called here "_los Hercules_," who have just come
to offer us a box in the Plaza.
This plan of the Iguala was certainly the only means by which Spain could
have continued to preserve these vast and distant possessions. The treaty
of Cordova, which confirmed it, was signed in that city between the Spanish
General O'Donoju and Don Agustin Yturbide, in August 1821, and consisted of
seventeen articles.
By the first, Mexico was to be acknowledged as a free and independent
nation, under the title of the Mexican empire.
By the second, its government was to be a constitutional monarchy.
By the third, Ferdinand VII, Catholic King of Spain, was called to the
throne of Mexico; and should he renounce or refuse the throne, it was
offered to his brother the Infant Don Carlos, and under the same
circumstances, to each brother in succession.
By the fourth, the emperor was to fix his court in Mexico, which was to be
considered the capital of the empire.
By the fifth, two commissioners named by O'Donoju were to pass over to the
Spanish court, to place the copy of the treaty and of the accompanying
exposition in his majesty's hands, to serve him as an antecedent, until the
Cortes should offer him the crown with all formality; requesting him to
inform the Infantes of the order in which they were named; interposing his
influence in order that the Emperor of Mexico should be one of his august
house, for the interest of both nations, and that the Mexicans might add
this link to the chain of friendship which united them with the Spaniards.
By the sixth, a _Junta_ of the first men in Mexico; first by their virtues,
position, fortune, etc., was to be named, sufficient in number to ensure
success in their resolutions by the union of so much talent and
information.
By the seventh, this Junta takes the name of the Administrative Provincial
Junta.
By the eighth, O'Donoju was named member of this Junta.
By the ninth, this Junta was to name a president.
By the tenth, it was to inform the public of its installation, and of the
motives which had caused it to meet.
By the eleventh, this assembly was to name a regency, composed of three
persons, to compose the executive power, and to govern in the name of the
monarch, until his arrival.
By the twelfth, the Junta was then to govern conformably to the laws, in
everything which did not oppose the plan of Iguala, and till the Cortes had
formed the constitution of the state.
By the thirteenth, the regency, as soon as they were named, were to proceed
to the convocation of the Cortes, according to the method decreed by the
provisional Junta.
By the fourteenth, the executive power was to reside in the regency--the
legislative in the Cortes--but until the reunion of the Cortes, the
legislative power was to be exercised by the Junta.
By the fifteenth, all persons belonging to the community, the system of
government being changed, or the country passing into the power of another
prince, were perfectly at liberty to transport themselves and their
fortunes wherever they chose, etc., etc.
By the sixteenth, this does not hold good in regard to the military or
public _employés_ disaffected to the Mexican independence; they will leave
the empire within the term prescribed by the regency, etc., etc.
By the seventeenth and last, as the occupation of the capital by the
peninsula troops is an obstacle to the realization of the treaty, this
difficulty must be vanquished; but as the chief of the imperial army
desires to bring this about, not by force, but by gentler means, General
O'Donoju offers to employ his authority with the troops, that they may
leave the capital without any effusion of blood, and by an honourable
treaty. This treaty was signed by Yturbide and O'Donoju.
Had this plan of Iguala taken effect, what would have been the result in
Mexico?--what its present condition?...
This being Sunday, and a fête-day, a man was murdered close by our door, in
a quarrel brought about probably through the influence of pulque, or rather
of _chinguirite_. If they did not so often end in deadly quarrel, there
would be nothing so amusing as to watch the Indians gradually becoming a
little intoxicated. They are at first so polite--handing the pulque-jar to
their fair companions (fair being taken in the general or _Pickwickian_
sense of the word); always taking off their hats to each other, and if they
meet a woman, kissing her hand with an humble bow as if she were a
duchess;--but these same women are sure to be the cause of a quarrel,
and then out come these horrible knives--and then, _Adios!_
It is impossible to conceive anything more humble and polite than the
common country-people. Men and women stop and wish you a good day,
the men holding their hats in their hands, and all showing their white
teeth, and faces lighted up by careless good-nature. I regret to state,
however, that to-day there are a great many women quite as tipsy as the
men, returning home after the fête, and increasing the distance to their
village, by taking a zigzag direction through the streets....
Señor Canedo, Secretary of State, has formally announced his intention of
resigning. Certainly the situation of premier in Mexico, at this moment, is
far from enviable, and the more distinguished and clear-headed the
individual, the more plainly he perceives the impossibility of remedying
the thickly-gathering evils which crowd the political horizon.
"Revolution," says Señor de -----, "has followed revolution since the
Independence; no stable government has yet been established. Had it
been so, Mexico would have offered to our eyes a phenomenon unknown
until now in the world--that of a people, without previous preparation,
passing at once to govern themselves by democratical institutions."
28th.--We drove out to the _Peñon_, a natural boiling fountain, where there
are baths, which are considered a universal remedy, a pool of Bethesda, but
an especial one for rheumatic complaints. The baths are a square of low
stone buildings, with a church--each building containing five or six empty
rooms, in one of which is a square bath. The idea seems to have been to
form a sort of dwelling-house for different families, as each bath has a
small kitchen attached to it. Like most _great ideas_ of Spanish days, it
is now in a state of perfect desolation, though people still flock there
for various complaints. When one goes there to bathe, it is necessary to
carry a mattress, to lie down on when you leave the bath, linen, a bottle
of cold water, of which there is not a drop in the place, and which is
particularly necessary for an invalid in case of faintness--in short
everything that you may require. A poor family live there to take charge of
the baths, and there is a small tavern where they sell spirits and pulque;
and occasionally a padre comes on Sunday to say mass in the old church.
We were amused by meeting there with General ----- and his family, who had
brought with them a whole coachload of provisions, besides mattresses,
sheets, etc. The road to the Peñon crosses the most dreary plain
imaginable. Behind the baths are two volcanic hills; and the view of Mexico
and of the great volcanoes from this is magnificent. It is the most
solitary of buildings; not a tree to be seen in its environs; these
volcanic rocks behind--Mexico fronting it--the great lakes near it--to the
right Guadalupe--to the left San Angel, San Agustin, and the mountains
which bound the valley. The Indian family who live there are handsome
savages; and the girl who attended me at the bath spoke an extraordinary
jargon, half Spanish, half Indian, but was a fine specimen of savage good
looks. The water is extremely warm, and my curiosity to try its temperature
was very soon satisfied.
These boiling springs are said to contain sulphate of lime, carbonic acid,
and muriate of soda, and the Indians make salt in their neighbourhood,
precisely as they did in the time of Montezuma, with the difference, as
Humboldt informs us, that then they used vessels of clay, and now they use
copper caldrons. The solitary-looking baths are ornamented with odd-looking
heads of cats or monkeys, which grin down upon you with a mixture of the
sinister and facetious rather appalling.
The Señora de ----- insisted on my partaking of her excellent luncheon
after the bath. We could not help thinking, were these baths in the hands
of some enterprising and speculative Yankee, what a fortune he would make;
how he would build an hotel _á la_ Sarratoga, would paper the rooms, and
otherwise beautify this uncouth temple of boiling water.
There is an indescribable feeling of solitude in all houses in the environs
of Mexico, a vastness, a desolation, such as I never before experienced in
the most lonely dwellings in other countries. It is not sad--the sky is too
bright, and nature too smiling, and the air we inhale too pure for that. It
is a sensation of being entirely out of the world, and alone with a giant
nature, surrounded by faint traditions of a bygone race; and the feeling is
not diminished, when the silence is broken by the footstep of the passing
Indian, the poor and debased descendant of that extraordinary and
mysterious people, who came, we know not whence, and whose posterity are
now "hewers of wood and drawers of water," on the soil where they once were
monarchs.
In Chapultepec especially, near as it is to a large and populous city, the
traditions of the past come so strongly upon the mind, that one would
rather look for the apparition of a whole band of these inky-haired
adder-anointed priests of Montezuma, than expect to meet with the
benevolent-looking archbishop, who, in purple robes, occasionally walks
under the shade of the majestic cypresses.
All Mexicans at present, men and women, are engaged in what are called the
_desagravios_, a public penance performed at this season in the churches,
during thirty-five days. The women attend church in the morning, no men
being permitted to enter, and the men in the evening, when women are not
admitted. Both rules are occasionally broken. The penitence of the men is
most severe, their sins being no doubt proportionably greater than those of
the women; though it is one of the few countries where they suffer for
this, or seem to act upon the principle, that "if all men had their
deserts, who should escape whipping?"
To-day we attended the morning penitence at six o'clock, in the church of
San Francisco; the hardest part of which was their having to kneel for
about ten minutes with their arms extended in the form of a cross, uttering
groans; a most painful position for any length of time. It is a profane
thought, but I dare say so many hundreds of beautifully-formed arms and
hands were seldom seen extended at the same moment before. Gloves not being
worn in church, and many of the women having short sleeves, they were very
much seen.
But the other night I was present at a much stranger scene, at the
discipline performed by the men; admission having been procured for us, by
certain means, _private but powerful_. Accordingly, when it was dark,
enveloped from head to foot in large cloaks, and without the slightest idea
of what it was, we went on foot through the streets to the church of San
Agustin. When we arrived, a small side-door apparently opened of itself,
and we entered, passing through long vaulted passages, and up steep winding
stairs, till we found ourselves in a small railed gallery, looking down
directly upon the church. The scene was curious. About one hundred and
fifty men, enveloped in cloaks and sarapes, their faces entirely concealed,
were assembled in the body of the church. A monk had just mounted the
pulpit, and the church was dimly lighted, except where he stood in bold
relief, with his gray robes and cowl thrown back, giving a full view of his
high bald forehead and expressive face.
His discourse was a rude but very forcible and eloquent description of the
torments prepared in hell for impenitent sinners. The effect of the whole
was very solemn. It appeared like a preparation for the execution of a
multitude of condemned criminals. When the discourse was finished, they all
joined in prayer with much fervour and enthusiasm, beating their breasts
and falling upon their faces. Then the monk stood up, and in a very
distinct voice, read several passages of scripture descriptive of the
sufferings of Christ. The organ then struck up the _Miserere,_ and all of a
sudden the church was plunged in profound darkness; all but a sculptured
representation of the Crucifixion, which seemed to hang in the air
illuminated. I felt rather frightened, and would have been very glad to
leave the church, but it would have been impossible in the darkness.
Suddenly, a terrible voice in the dark cried, "My brothers! when Christ was
fastened to the pillar by the Jews, he was _scourged!_" At these words, the
bright figure disappeared, and the darkness became total. Suddenly, we
heard the sound of hundreds of scourges descending upon the bare flesh. I
cannot conceive anything more horrible. Before ten minutes had passed, the
sound became _splashing,_ from the blood that was flowing.
I have heard of these penitences in Italian churches, and also that half of
those who go there do not really scourge themselves; but here where there
is such perfect concealment, there seems no motive for deception.
Incredible as it may seem, this awful penance continued, without
intermission, for half an hour! If they scourged _each other,_ their energy
might be less astonishing.
We could not leave the church, but it was perfectly sickening; and had I
not been able to take hold of the Señora -----'s hand, and feel something
human beside me, I could have fancied myself transported into a
congregation of evil spirits. Now and then, but very seldom, a suppressed
groan was heard, and occasionally the voice of the monk encouraging them by
ejaculations, or by short passages from Scripture. Sometimes the organ
struck up, and the poor wretches, in a faint voice, tried to join in the
_Miserere_. The sound of the scourging is indescribable. At the end of half
an hour a little bell was rung, and the voice of the monk was heard,
calling upon them to desist; but such was their enthusiasm, that the
horrible lashing continued louder and fiercer than ever.
In vain he entreated them not to kill themselves; and assured them that
heaven would be satisfied, and that human nature could not endure beyond a
certain point. No answer, but the loud sound of the scourges, which are
many of them of iron, with sharp points that enter the flesh. At length, as
if they were perfectly exhausted, the sound grew fainter, and little by
little ceased altogether. We then got up in the dark, and, with great
difficulty, groped our way in the pitch darkness through the galleries and
down the stairs, till we reached the door, and had the pleasure of feeling
the fresh air again. They say that the church-floor is frequently covered
with blood after one of these penances, and that a man died the other day
in consequence of his wounds.
I then went to the house of the ----- Minister, where there was a
_reunion_, and where I found the company comfortably engaged in eating a
very famous kind of German salad, composed of herrings, smoked salmon, cold
potatoes, and apples; (salmagundi?) and drinking hot punch. After the cold,
darkness, and horrors of the church, this formed rather a contrast; and it
was some time before I could shake off the disagreeable impression left by
the _desagravios_, and join in the conversation....
Along with this you will receive some Mexican airs, which I have written by
ear from hearing them played, and of some of which I gave you the words in
a former letter.
[Illustration: MEXICAN AIRS See Letters 12th and 16th. JARAVE PALAMO.]
[Illustration: LOS ENANOS.]
[Illustration: PERICO.]
[Illustration: EL AFORRADO.]