Fanny Chambers Gooch Iglehart

“ The city of Mexico, which stands on the site of the ancient city, is one of the finest and best built cities on the continent. The architecture is grand and massive rather than diversified and ornate. The monotony of solid walls and high-arched portals at first strikes the stranger with a feeling akin to disappointment, but familiarity brings only a deeper consciousness of the grandeur of the whole. A singular and impressive feature is the fact that not only is the site that of the ancient Aztec capital, but the general style of the buildings remains the same. ”

“ They cannot afford to be false, the one to the other; to demand anything which is not clearly right; to submit to anything which is manifestly wrong. They should rejoice with each other in prosperity; they should aid each other in distress. Had I the power to-night, I would give to the nationality of Mexico, to the prosperity and happiness of her people, wings that should bear them far above her snow-capped mountains, up toward the eternal stars!
And now what shall I say to you, my countrymen—my own dear countrymen? ”

“ A new era is dawning in Mexico. The advent of railways is opening a wide field; her people are rousing from their slumber. The government is extending her protection over the poor as well as the rich classes, and rapid progress is witnessed on every side. The wealthy and powerful of the Mexican Republic owe it to themselves to let the spirit of freedom and independence find full growth in the bosoms of all, from the toiling peon on the hacienda to the wild, dark Indian in the fastnesses of his mountains. ”

“ Mexico is an earthly paradise for children. The little monarchs hold high sway in the affections of the people; and from the moment they see the light it is a long hey-day of enjoyment and child-play. Expressions of the tenderest love are lavished on them without affectation, whether in the street, the house, or the shop, and, regardless of how many may have preceded him, the new baby is hailed with delight, and takes superior rank in the household. ”

“ Your lives are forfeit. Your master, Spain's minion, has murdered my father; murdered him in cold blood for choosing Mexico and liberty before Spain and her tyrannies. Some of you are fathers, and may imagine what my father felt in being thrust from the world without one farewell word from his son,—ay! and your sons may feel a portion of that anguish of soul which fills my breast, as thoughts arise of my father's wrongs and cruel death. ”

“ The canal itself is literally overspread with boats large and small, some with a covered space in the middle and a deck at each end, all manned by swarthy Indians. Indian women and girls in their well-befitting costumes, with wreaths of poppies on their heads, and garlands around their necks, guitar in hand, sing in every imaginable key the madrigals of their people, dancing as they go. ”

“ The rainbow tints upon the mountains were reflected in the valley, in the characteristic and peculiar dress of the hundreds of busy workers, mostly Indians, far below us assorting ores. Red and plaid serapes, more than rainbow-hued, were tossed carelessly, but with artistic effect, upon the shoulders of the men, while countless women and children with gay skirts, naked feet, blue rebozos, jetty hair either flowing or in plaits, moved about with unstudied grace. Nature, too, contributed her fairest to the scene. ”

“ The passions of those perilous times are long since dead; our quondam enemy is now our friend, and an American woman is at liberty to peacefully erect her household gods among them.
Both courage and resolution were necessary in transplanting ourselves to this terra incognita; but the climate, the hospitality of the people, the beautiful scenery, the novelty of the surroundings, which every day afforded delight, would of themselves reconcile one to exchanging the old, the tried, and the true for the experiences of an unknown world. ”

“ FROM MEXICO TO MORELIA ALONG THE MEXICAN NATIONAL.
SKY such as only a Mexican sky can be, when the sun's rays wove gorgeous oriflammes across the snowy mountain peaks; an atmosphere, translucent to the eyes and an elixir to the lungs, bearing on its health-giving wings the perfume of a thousand flowers ”

“ And never since he first learned to lisp the hallowed words at his mother's knee, never more fervently "in spirit and in truth," has the noble gentleman who gives to Charity the ground upon which we stand, repeated that heaven-born prayer, than is he now repeating—nay! than he repeats it all the while; for the heart of his charity never ceases to beat; no race or nationality, no line of latitude or longitude, can bound its action. ”

“ For two years it remained a mystery, but at length I ascertained that it was the portrait of Dona Ana, the beautiful wife of the Emperor Iturbide. More than two years passed, and I again returned to the land of the Aztecs; even now scarcely expecting to tread the soil which had nurtured both Iturbide and Doña Ana. But I had not only the pleasure of visiting at Morelia the identical houses in which they were born and reared, but also had the happiness of enjoying the acquaintance and friendship of, with one exception, the last living and only descendants of this handsome and distinguished pair. ”

“ Reflected on its glassy bosom were these two mountains—peaceful, snow-clad, and as exquisitely limned under the matchless sky as though the water was a canvas, and a giant master-painter had planned and painted the whole grand scene.
The immutable laws of God create sublime works of sculpture and sublime paintings. Stand afar from Smoking Mountain and the Woman in White. Stand in their shadows, when the sun is sinking behind their lofty summits. The one rises, bold, rugged, misshapen, and chaotic. ”

“ My sister Emma, the loveliest and most devoted of women, was suddenly called from this bright world in the summer bloom of her loving life, leaving four young and tender children, leaving all her relations and friends grief-stricken and myself in the depths of such anguish as only God and the good angels know. When we came into this world, it was in a large family of brothers who loved and petted the two wee girls with all the devotion of noble-hearted men. ”

“ It is manifested even in the choice of vehicles, closed carriage being almost invariably used, though with such air and skies the reverse might naturally be expected. The first aspiration, with them, is to make home beautiful, and to this end every element of a cultured and refined taste is duly provided and cared for within the massive doors. The exquisite beauty of the rare and gorgeous flowers in the patios affords constant pleasure by day, while by night they have only to glance upward to obtain wondrous visions of a star-gemmed firmament. ”

“ I had fallen into that helpless attitude toward the outer world which is like a spell over the women of the country. The return of the engineers and the discussion of plans for our homeward journey on horseback broke up the dream—one last drive on the paseo in the splendor of the low sunset light, then a bustle of packing, and talk of saddles and horses, servants for the road, and of steamer days and telegrams, last calls and a sense of multiplied obligations, which fate might never permit us fitly to recognize. ”

“ His place in history cannot be augured from his fate at the hands of his countrymen. Time avenges all such, and many who were executed as traitors are now revered as martyrs, their dust the choicest treasure of the Grand Cathedral and San Fernando. The strife in which they lived is past; the passions to which they were sacrificed are stilled forever, and only their great deeds survive. They live in the hearts of their countrymen, and in every part of the republic their memorials are to be found in the forms of mural tablet or shaft. ”

“ The independence of Mexico has not yet accomplished much for these people, yet they are content. Would that the great question of our own Indians might be settled, and that they could regulate their lives in as useful and peaceful a manner as their dusky-hued brethren in the land of the Montezumas! The Mexican Indian is by inherent custom an agriculturist, and notwithstanding the fact that the conqueror imposed upon him burdensome and distasteful labors—among them that of mining—he at the first opportunity returned to his favorite vocation, to which he still adheres at the present day. ”

“ In 1839 Madame Calderon de la Barca made the journey from the capital to Morelia on horseback, and regretted that so much beauty was wasted. She says: "We are startled by the conviction that this enchanting variety of hill and plain, wood and water, is for the most part unseen by human eye and untrod by human footstep." These beauties are now no longer concealed. The railway has penetrated the country in more than one direction, and has rendered accessible its most romantic scenery, while opening up its varied and valuable productions. ”

“ Venders of charcoal step nimbly along with from twenty to twenty-five bags of this commodity strapped about them, their bodies so begrimed as to render it hard to decide whether they belong to the Aztec or African race.
One obtains a glimpse of rural life in the frequent passing of herds of cattle, all without horns, and in the noisy gobbling of droves of turkeys as they are driven through the city. Halting only when their proprietor finds a purchaser, they strut through the streets of the metropolis as unconcernedly as though on their native hacienda. ”

“ At other times one may see a poor woman, bearing upon her head a plain little open coffin, containing her dead child, with eyes wide open and a profusion of gay flowers covering the tiny form. What volumes it tells of the sweetly poetic thoughts, implanted by a divine hand in the heart of a poverty-stricken, bereaved Indian mother! ”

“ On seeing each other, the carriages were halted, both alighted, removed hats, shook hands, embraced, talked for a few moments, again embraced, shook hands, bowed, took off hats, and each entered his carriage and went his way.
Among women the salutation assumes a more confidential form; the stranger receives a gentle tap of the right hand upon the left shoulder, and then a generous shake of the hand; while more intimate friends not only tap each other, but also kiss, not on the lips, however, merely laying the cheeks softly together. The Mexican mode is to be commended. ”

“ In every circumstance they proved to be animated by the noblest impulses of our common nature, and one of the happiest discoveries I made during those days of a bewildering bewildering struggle with a new civilization, was that, despite the representation of many of my own countrymen, fidelity, tenderness, and untiring devotion were as truly Mexican characteristics as American. It is doubtful in my mind if the people of any country lavish upon strangers the same warmth of manner or exhibit the same readiness to serve them, as do our near-at-hand, far-away neighbors, the Mexicans. ”

“ An army of beggars in rags, hundreds of children—faces unwashed, hair unkempt—sallied around, gnawing on great chunks of meat, playing in huge basins of soup, scooping up frijoles with tortillas, or screaming and fighting with the myriads of dogs. Gambling was in full force; women were cooking in every way known from the time of Adam, selling everything, screaming their prices, and, like the tireless venders they are, seldom failing to secure a purchaser. ”

“ After leaving Fresnillo, a once widely known mining community, now in disuse, we come upon Zacatecas, the highest point and the largest city between El Paso and the capital, having an altitude of about nine thousand feet, and containing nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants. Having crept, as it were, along the smooth table-lands, not suspecting the nearness of this grand old city, its sudden appearance was a revelation to us, with its towering domes and glistening turrets, its lofty chimneys announcing its vast industries of silver mining and coining. ”

“ With all their tropical embellishments, growing plants, and sparkling water from the fountains in the patio, singing birds, brilliant flowers, and salons of grand proportions and magnificent furnishings, added to the elegant costumes of the guests, it makes a delightful event in the lives of the people and an enviable one for the stranger.
But dancing is an inherited accomplishment with the native Mexican, the younger members of society learning from those more experienced in the ways of the world. ”

“ Rising somewhere amid the heights which frown down upon the inoffensive village a stream of pure, sparkling water resolves itself into quite an imposing cascade, making, at one jump, a fall of perhaps fifty feet, thence flowing, broken and frothing, along its tortuous way through the pass. Here the stream is deflected from its natural bed into a ditch to furnish water-power for a cotton factory of one hundred looms, and having served this purpose, it is taken through irrigating ditches, and spread over the corn and wheat fields of the Saltillo valley. ”

“ The women of other countries may fill a wider sphere, but there is no climate nor customs like their own.
A parallel is found by transplanting the American woman to Mexico, and the Mexican woman to the United States. The one sighs over her lack of freedom, while with the other, the excess of freedom is an untold burden. No charm or attraction can exist for her beyond the barred window and the circumscribed limits of the promenade, accompanied according to custom, by some female relative or servant. ”