Christmas-day--Kalends and Mass--Amateur
Performances--Solo--_Posadas_--Wandering of the Holy
Family--_Nacimiento_--Crowded Party--French Cooks--Mexican Cook--State of
Household--New Year's Day--Mass--Dirtiness of the Churches,
etc.--Comparisons--Private Chapels--English Club--Preparations for Journey.
25th.
CHRISTMAS-DAY! One year this evening since we made our entry into Mexico.
What a different aspect everything has assumed to us in one year! Then
every object was new, every face that of a stranger. Now we are surrounded
by familiar sights and sounds, and above all by friendly faces. But though
novelty, which has its charms and its _désagrémens_, has gone, nothing in
Mexico even appears commonplace. Everything is on so large a scale, and
everything so picturesque. Then there is so much interest attached to its
old buildings, so much to see, even though there are no _sights_ and no
show-places, unless we are to put in that class the Minera, Museum,
Cathedral, University, and Botanic Garden, usually visited by travellers,
that at whatever period we may leave it, I feel convinced we shall regret
some point of interest, that we have left unvisited....
Some days ago coloured cards, printed in gilt letters, were sent round,
inviting all the senator's friends to the mass, in this form:--
"J---e B---o G---- requests that you will honour him with your presence and
that of your family, in the solemn function of Kalends and Mass, with which
he annually makes an humble remembrance of the Birth of the Saviour, which
festivity will take place on the morning of the 24th of this month, at nine
o'clock in the Parish Church of the _Sagrario_ of the Holy Cathedral.
"Mexico, December, 1840."
By nine we were all assembled in the choir; Don B---o in his uniform, dark
blue and gold, we in mantillas. The church looked very splendid, and, as
usual on these occasions, no _léperos_ were admitted, therefore the crowd
was very elegant and select. The affair went off brilliantly. Four or five
of the girls, and several of the married women, have superb voices; and not
one of all those who sang in chorus had a bad voice. The finest I almost
ever heard is that of the Señorita C----. Were she to study in Italy, I
venture to predict that she might rival Grisi. Such depth, power,
extension, and sweetness, with such richness of tone in the upper notes,
are very rarely united. She sang a solo in such tones that I thought the
people below must have been inclined to applaud. There are others whose
voices are much more cultivated, and who have infinitely more science. I
speak only of the raw material. The orchestra was really good, and led by a
first-rate musician. I was thankful when my part of the entertainment was
over, and I could give an individual attention to the others. The
celebration lasted four hours, but there was rather a long sermon. You will
shortly receive a detailed account of the whole, which is to be published
in the Mexican Annual, called "The Ladies' Guide."
In the evening we went to the house of the Marquesa de V---o, to spend the
Christmas-eve. On this night all the relations and intimate friends of each
family assemble in the house of the _head of the clan_, a real gathering,
and in the present case to the number of fifty or sixty persons.
This is the last night of what are called the _Posadas,_ a curious mixture
of religion and amusement, but extremely pretty. The meaning is this: At
the time when the decree went forth from Caesar Augustus, that "all the
world should be taxed," the Virgin and Joséph having come out of Galilee to
Judaea to be inscribed for the taxation, found Bethlehem so full of people,
who had arrived from all parts of the world, that they wandered about for
nine days, without finding admittance in any house or tavern, and on the
ninth day took shelter in a manger, where the Saviour was born. For eight
days this wandering of the Holy Family to the different _Posadas_ is
represented, and seems more intended for an amusement to the children than
anything serious. We went to the Marquesa's at eight o'clock, and about
nine the ceremony commenced. A lighted taper is put into the hand of each
lady, and a procession was formed, two by two, which marched all through
the house, the corridors and walls of which were all decorated with
evergreens and lamps, the whole party singing the Litanies. K----- walked
with the dowager marquesa; and a group of little children, dressed as
angels, joined the procession. They wore little robes of silver or gold
lama, plumes of white feathers, and a profusion of fine diamonds, and
pearls, in _bandeaux_, brooches, and necklaces, white gauze wings, and
white satin shoes, embroidered in gold.
At last the procession drew up before a door, and a shower of fireworks was
sent flying over our heads, I suppose to represent the descent of the
angels; for a group of ladies appeared, dressed to represent the shepherds
who watched their flocks by night upon the plains of Bethlehem. Then
voices, supposed to be those of Mary and Joséph, struck up a hymn, in which
they begged for admittance, saying that the night was cold and dark, that
the wind blew hard, and that they prayed for a night's shelter. A chorus of
voices from within refused admittance. Again those without entreated
shelter, and at length declared that she at the door, who thus wandered in
the night, and had not where to lay her head, was the Queen of Heaven! At
this name the doors were thrown wide open, and the Holy Family entered
singing. The scene within was very pretty: a _nacimiento_. Platforms, going
all round the room, were covered with moss, on which were disposed groups
of wax figures, generally representing passages from different parts of the
New Testament, though sometimes they begin with Adam and Eve in paradise.
There was the Annunciation--the Salutation of Mary to Elizabeth--the Wise
Men of the East--the Shepherds--the Flight into Egypt. There were green
trees and fruit trees, and little fountains that cast up fairy columns of
water, and flocks of sheep, and a little cradle in which to lay the Infant
Christ. One of the angels held a waxen baby in her arms. The whole was
lighted very brilliantly, and ornamented with flowers and garlands. A padre
took the baby from the angel, and placed it in the cradle, and the posada
was completed. We then returned to the drawing-room--angels, shepherds, and
all, and danced till suppertime. The supper was a show for sweetmeats and
cakes.
Today, with the exception of there being no service in all the churches,
Christmas is not kept in any remarkable way. We are spending this evening
alone, and very quietly. Tomorrow we have a _soirée_. I have letters from
C---n, from Cuernavaca, delighted with the beauties of _tierra caliente_,
and living amongst roses and orange trees. I hope that in January we shall
be able to go there, in case anything should occur to induce us to leave
Mexico before next winter.
27th.--We had a very crowded party last evening, I think the best we have
had yet, a fact which I mention, because I triumph in my opinion that these
weekly parties would succeed in Mexico having proved correct. I have lately
been engaged in search of a _cook_, with as much pertinacity as Japhet in
search of his father, and with as little success as he had in his
preliminary inquiries. One, a Frenchman, I found out had been tried for
murder--another was said to be deranged--a third, who announced himself as
the greatest _artiste_ who had yet condescended to visit Mexico, demanded a
salary which he considered suitable to his abilities. I tried a female
Mexican, in spite of her flowing hair. She seemed a decent woman and
tolerable cook; and, although our French housekeeper and prime Minister had
deserted us at our utmost need, we ventured to leave the house, and to
spend the day at Tacubaya. On our return, found the whole establishment
unable to stand! Cook tipsy--soldiers ditto--galopine slightly
intoxicated--in short, the house taking care of itself--no _standing force_
but the coachman and footman, who have been with us some time, and appear
to be excellent servants. I am, however, promised a good Mexican
housekeeper, and trust that some order will be established under her
government; also, a Chinese cook, with a _celestial_ character....
Letters from Spain, announcing the speedy arrival of a Secretary of
Legation and another attache.
1st January, 1841.--A happy New Year to all! We began it by attending early
mass in San Francisco, about the cleanest church in Mexico, and most
frequented by the better classes. There you may have the good fortune to
place yourself between two well-dressed women, but you are equally likely
to find your neighbour a beggar with a blanket; besides, the floor is
nearly as dirty as that of the cathedral. This dirtiness is certainly one
of the greatest drawbacks to human felicity in this beautiful country,
degrading the noble edifices dedicated to the worship of God, destroying
the beautiful works destined for the benefit of his creatures. The streets,
the churches, the theatres, the market-place, the people, all are
contaminated by this evil. The market-place is indeed full of flowers and
green branches and garlands--but those who sell the flowers and weave the
wreaths are so dirty, that the effect of what would otherwise be the
prettiest possible picture, is completely destroyed. In the theatre there
is a series of suffocating odours, especially in the dimly-lighted
corridors, which is anything but agreeable. The custom of kneeling on the
floor in church seems fitting and devout, but there surely can be no reason
why the floor of a sacred building should not be kept scrupulously clean,
or why the lower classes should not be obliged to dress themselves with
common decency. Those who are unable to do so, though probably there are
not half a dozen people in Mexico who do not wear rags merely from
indolence, should certainly have a place set apart for them, in which case
this air of squalid poverty would no doubt disappear. On occasion of any
peculiar fête, the church is washed and beggars are excluded, and then
indeed these noble edifices seem fitting temples wherein to worship the
Most High.
On other days, in addition to the léperos (especially in the cathedral),
the Indian women are in the habit of bringing their babies and baskets of
vegetables to church, and the babies on their part are in the habit of
screaming, as babies will when they consider themselves neglected. This may
be difficult to amend, the poor woman having come in from her village, and
perforce brought her progeny with her; but the strong, stout man in rags,
who prefers begging to working--the half-naked woman who would consider
herself degraded by doing anything to better her condition, except asking
for alms--the dogs which wander up and down during divine service,--all
these might be brought to order by proper regulations.
Notwithstanding all these drawbacks, I have sometimes compared, in my own
mind, the appearance of a fashionable London chapel with that of a Mexican
church, on the occasion of a solemn fête, and the comparison is certainly
in favour of the latter. The one, light, airy, and gay, with its
velvet-lined pews, its fashionable preacher, the ladies a little sleepy
after the last night's opera, but dressed in the most elegant morning
toilet, and casting furtive glances at Lady -----'s bonnet and feathers,
and at Mrs. -----'s cashmere shawl or lovely ermine pelisse, and exchanging
a few fashionable nothings at the door, as the footmen let down the steps
of their gay equipages--the other, solemn, stately, and gloomy, and showing
no distinction of rank. The floor covered with kneeling figures--some
enveloped in the reboso, others in the mantilla, and all alike devout, at
least in outward seeming. No showy dress, or gay bonnet, or fashionable
mantle to cause the eye of the poor to wander with envy or admiration.
Apparently considering themselves alike in the sight of Heaven, the peasant
and the marquesa kneel side by side, with little distinction of dress; and
all appear occupied with their own devotions, without observing either
their neighbour's dress or degree of devoutness. Religious feeling may be
equally strong in the frequenters of both places of worship; but as long as
we possess senses which can be affected by external objects, the
probabilities of the most undivided devotional feeling are in favour of the
latter. The eye will wander--the thoughts will follow where it leads. In
the one case it rests on elegant forms and fashionable toilets--in the
other, it sees nothing but a mass of dark and kneeling figures, or a
representation of holy and scriptural subjects.
However, one consequence of the exceeding dirtiness of the Mexican
churches, and the number of léperos who haunt them, as much in the way of
their calling as from devotion, is that a great part of the principal
families here, having oratorios in their houses, have engaged the services
of a padre, and have mass at home. There is a small chapel in the house of
General B---a, the handsomest house in Mexico, where there is a virgin
carved in wood, one of the most exquisite pieces of sculpture that can be
seen. The face is more than angelic--it is divine; but a divine nature,
suffering mortal anguish.
27th.--On the first of February we hope to set off on an expedition to
_tierra caliente,_ from which C---n returned some time ago. We have, by
good fortune, procured an excellent Mexican housekeeper, under whose
auspices everything has assumed a very different aspect, and to whose care
we can intrust the house when we go. Nothing remarkable has occurred here
lately--the usual routine of riding on horseback, visiting in carriage,
walking very rarely in the Alameda, driving in the Paseo, dining at
Tacubaya, the three weekly _soirées,_ varied by a diplomatic dinner in the
house of the ----- Minister, and by the dinner of the English club who met
here yesterday--by a sale of books after dinner, in which the president of
the society fined me five dollars for keeping a stupid old poem past the
time, upon which I _moved_ that the poem should be presented to me, which
was carried _nem_. _con_.
We have been strongly advised not to attempt this journey, and the stories
of robbers and robberies, related by credible persons, are not encouraging.
Robbers, bad roads, horrible heat, poisonous animals; many are the
difficulties prognosticated to us. The season is already rather advanced,
but it has been impossible for us to set off sooner. Our next letters will
be written either during our journey, should we find the opportunity, or
after our return.