HOME SCENE NEAR THE LAKE.
There are several varieties of fish in the fresh-water lakes of the Valley of Mexico, but in the salt or brackish Lake Tezcoco there is only one kind, and some people think he is not entitled to be called a fish. He is shaped like one, but has four legs and a long, eel-like tail. He belongs more properly to the lizard family than to that of the fishes, and is a disgusting object to contemplate. He grows to about ten inches in length. Frank thought he should go hungry a long time rather than eat of this reptile, who is calledaxolotlin the Aztec tongue, andajoloteby the Spaniards.
"Does anybody venture to eat this creature?" Fred asked.
"Certainly," answered his informant; "the Indians eat its flesh, which resembles that of an eel. White men who have got over their prejudice say it is toothsome, and many a stranger has devoured axolotl under the name of fried eel, and enjoyed it too."
"There's a great deal in a name and in prejudice," was the youth's commentary as he changed the subject to something else.
That something was a peculiar article of food even stranger than axolotl. Its scientific name isAhuatlea Mexicana, and it consists of the eggs of a peculiar fly, which are deposited on the reeds and rushes growing in the shallow places along the borders of the lake. A traveller who visited Mexico two and a half centuries ago wrote of this substance as follows:
"The Indians gathered much of this and kept it in Heaps, and made thereof Cakes like unto Brick-bats, and they did eat this with as good a Stomach as we eat Cheese; yea, and they hold Opinion that this Scum, or Fatness, of the Water is the Cause that such great number of Fowl cometh to the Lake, which in the winter Season is infinite."
Custom has not changed in two hundred and fifty years. They sell these "cakes like unto brick-bats" in the markets of Mexico to-day, and the Indians eat the stuff with good relish. It bears some resemblance to fine fish-roe; and after all, prejudice again being removed, and one being hungry, it is not bad eating. The Indians gather these insects by myriads and pound them into paste, which is afterwards wrapped in corn-husks, and forms an article of food second only to the one just mentioned. The laying capacity of the insect, which is about the size of an ordinary fly, is something marvellous, surpassing the abilities of the choicest fowls that ever were reared.
A DEAD FLY.
"You may judge how abundant these insects are," said Frank, "whenI tell you they settle down so thickly on the water that we thought they were shoals, or mud-banks! Fortunately for us, they didn't sting, nor did they even settle on the boat."
In one of his letters to the King describing the country he had conquered Cortez gave a minute account of the lakes in the neighborhood of Tenochtitlan, and naturally mentioned the fact that they had no outlet. He solved the mystery of the disappearance of the waters by gravely declaring that there was a large hole in the bottom of Lake Tezcoco by which the lake was drained. A century later an engineer was sent from Spain to find the hole in the bottom of the lake. He made many surveys, but was unable to discover it, and finally concluded that the surplus water was carried off by evaporation.
RUINS OF A TOLTEC HOUSE.
One day while Frank and Fred were strolling along the streets, observing the people and their ways, studying the architecture, and making other observations, according to their custom, their attention was drawn to a young man who was walking slowly up and down in front of a house. His movements were so peculiar that Frank asked their guide what the man was about.
A FORTUNATE BEAR.
"Oh, he's playing the bear!" was the reply.
"And what is 'playing the bear?' I would like to know," the youth responded.
"He's making love," the guide explained; "that's the Mexican way of courtship."
This was a subject of special interest to the youths, as they knew their sisters and all the other young ladies at home would wish to know about it. Accordingly, they proceeded to inform themselves concerning the Mexican form of wooing, and here is the result of their inquiries:
"Courtship in this country," wrote Frank, "is a serious matter, and requires a great deal of patience. Young ladies are carefully secluded from anything more than the most formal acquaintance with young men, and there is no such thing here as the freedom of social manners that we have at home. When a young man has fixed his thoughts upon a fair damsel whom he has met at a party, or to whom hehas been introduced in the Zocalo, he begins his courtship by walking up and down the street in front of her house and keeping his eyes fixed on one of the balconies, which he has somehow ascertained is the proper one for his gaze. A hint has been conveyed to the young lady that he will be there, and also to her parents and sisters. This hint may be given by the priest, who frequently serves as an intermediary; by some relative of the young man; or by means of a note sent to the young lady herself through the medium of theportero, or door-keeper, whose trouble must be paid for with cash in advance.
MEXICAN COURTSHIP.
"This promenading in front of the house is kept up for hours at a time day after day, and also at night, and is what is called 'playing the bear.' It is generally done on foot, but sometimes the lover appears on horseback, the lady having been notified, through the subsidized portero, at what hour he may be expected.
CODE-SIGNALLING WITH THE FAN.
"The lover is observed by the lady and her mother and the other feminine members of the family, who sit inside the window and are partially, if not wholly, screened from sight. If the match is favored by theparents the 'bear business' lasts only a month, or perhaps two or three months; but if it is not so favored the lover may keep it up for a long time, or until he gets discouraged and withdraws his suit. Of course it happens here as in other countries that parental opposition occasionally develops the young lady's affection, and then the young couple resort to all sorts of stratagems to exchangebillets-doux. Letters are raised or lowered by means of strings, or transmitted through the hands of the portero already mentioned. In the case of parental opposition the portero runs a great risk, and consequently must be highly paid. Courtship under such circumstances is a luxury that only the affluent can afford.
"When the proper time arrives, provided everything is running smoothly, the young man, accompanied by a gentleman friend older than himself, calls on the father of the girl,and makes a proposal for her hand. The father says he will see about it, and the visitors take their leave.
"The father asks the girl if she desires to marry the young man. However much she may desire to do so she must profess indifference and say she cannot tell until she has met him. Then he is invited to call, and when he responds he is met by the entire family, including the servants. After he becomes thenovio oficial, or accepted lover, he has the privilege of calling without a friend; but at no time is he ever left for a moment alone with the young lady. All interviews must be in the presence of a member of the family or of a duenna, no matter how long the courtship may continue after the formal acceptance.
"THERE HE IS."
"As the time for the marriage ceremony approaches the groom has a serious matter to contemplate—the 'matter o' money' connected with matrimony. He must furnish the house and home, and also buy the bridal outfit. Not infrequently the parents of the bride relieve him of a part of the expense, though they allow him to buy the jewels and bridal dresses. One thing that he must provide, according to a long-establishedcustom, is an ivory-covered prayer-book; whatever else he fails in he must not be negligent in this. Eight or ten weeks before the ceremony, the pair must register at church, giving their names, ages, etc., very much as they do in some of the American States. A similar registry is made at the civil office. The banns must be published for five Sundays, and the bride must state before the priest and a notary that she marries 'of her own free-will.' The civil marriage takes place a few days before the ceremony in the church, and when the matter is ended the young couple are fairly launched into wedded life."
"Hadn't you better say something," Fred remarked, "about the ceremony itself?"
"That's hardly necessary," replied Frank, "as it is not much unlike the ceremony in all Catholic countries, and has been described over and over again. There are some local customs, however, that may be worth noting; for instance, a lady describes a wedding that she saw here in a church, where the groom passed several gold coins into the bride's hands, as an indication that she was to manage their financial affairs. But the chances are more than even that he did not permit her to do anything of the kind. When they knelt at the altar a silken scarf was put around their shoulders and a silver cord around their necks, to indicate their complete union."
"A cynical commentator might say," observed Fred, "that the silver cord indicated that the couple was united by financial considerations."
"That's something I've nothing to do with," answered Frank, quietly; "we'll go on with our description. But it is said that marriages in Mexico depend more on social, family, or business matters than upon sentiment."
"After the church ceremony," he continued, "there is a festival to which intimate friends are invited. Then the pair send cards to all friends and reasonably intimate acquaintances announcing their marriage, and the notice winds up with an equivalent for the 'at home' card of married couples in the United States and England.
A STUDENT OF "EL SECRETARIO."
"And one thing more," added Frank, "while we are on this subject. A woman who never marries is not stigmatized as an 'old maid,' as is often the case in the Northern States. Nobody ever thinks of suggesting that she has never had an offer of marriage; the remark about her always isthat 'she is difficult to suit' even though no man may ever have thought of showing her any attention.
MEXICAN WEDDING IN THE COUNTRY.
"Of course, you understand that in the marriage just described I had the upper classes in mind. Among the common people there is much less ceremony and formality; marriages are generally arranged by the parish priest, who conducts the principal part of the negotiations, and he has also a great deal to say on the subject among the middle, or tradesman, class. There is as much feasting and revelry as the parties can afford, and generally more than is prudent for them. Sometimes matches are made up by the parents of the young couple, without any consultation with them; but as children in this country are obedient to their parents, they are very unlikely to make any opposition to matches thus arranged."
Frank invested a real in a pamphlet called "El Secretario de los Amantes," or, to translate somewhat freely, "the hand-book of lovers." It is probably the most widely circulated book in the Mexican republic, and is as popular among young people as is "The Complete Letter-Writer," among those whose education has not been all they could wish, and who have occasion for epistolary correspondence.
The earnest attention which was given to this little work as soon as it fell into the hands of the youths led to a suspicion on the part of the Doctor that Frank and Fred meditated a little love-making on their own account, by way of experiment. But so far as we have been informed, nothing of the kind occurred; should any later information on the subject come to hand, it will be duly set forth in the second edition of "The Boy Travellers in Mexico."
The "Secretario" contains a code of cipher writing, forms for using numerals in place of the letters of the alphabet, symbols for each of the twenty-four hours of the day and night or the fractions thereof, and the one-hand alphabet for deaf-mutes. The necessity for this alphabet in love-making, and the practice that comes from it, may probably be the reason why many Spanish-Americans occasionally make signs in conversation, instead of speaking in words. There are chapters of advice to lovers, and there is a full signal code for the use of the fan, the handkerchief, the sombrero, and the glove. Spanish women have long been famed for their skill with the fan, and for the conversations they can conduct with its aid, and it has a very important place in the language of love.
FLOWERS FOR A LADY.
In most editions of the book there is a separate chapter on the language of flowers and their various meanings accordingly as they are arranged or combined with others. A love-story can be told in the skilful construction of a bouquet—at least enough of it to form the opening chapter. There is also a language of fruits, and Fred suggested that there should be one of tortillas, frijoles, tamals, and other articles of the Mexican cuisine.
"Here is a wide range," said he, "for the author of 'El Secretario.' Provide each of the lovers with a thermometer, and then the temperature of a tortilla, as it is tossed into or out of a window, can be made to express a great deal. Forty degrees Fahrenheit might mean, 'My love is cold,' and one hundred and twenty degrees would say, 'I'm sighing like the furnace.' Ninety degrees signifies, 'Look out for the old gentleman,' and one hundredwould literally say, 'I'm up to par.' The new edition of the book, with the tortilla annex, ought to sell like—"
"Like hot cakes," Frank remarked, and then the subject of matrimony was dropped.
The youths next considered the subject of the funeral, a ceremony with which the Church has quite as much to do as with weddings. It was Fred's turn to make an investigation, and commit his information to writing, and the following is the result of his efforts:
FUNERAL OF GENERAL DOBLADO, GUANAJUATO.
"One of the odd things about funerals in this city," wrote the youth, "is that they go by rail to the cemetery. The enterprising manager of the street railways formed his scheme, and then bought up all the hearses, so as to compel the populace to adopt his plan. There was opposition to it at first, but a short trial showed that it was much more economical than the old system. There is a good service of funeral cars, and they are graduated to suit all purses that have any money at all in them. The range of prices is from three to one hundred and twenty dollars; for the lowest sum a single car drawn by a mule is supplied, and for the highest figure one may have a hearse-car, gorgeously draped, plumed, and liveried, drawn by a pair of black horses, and with attendants appropriately liveried and ofmost solemn countenance. The hearse-car is followed by two, and perhaps three cars, containing the mourners, friends of the deceased, and others, who go to make up the funeral cortége, and these cars are as appropriately draped as the hearse. Ranging between the highest and lowest figures are half a dozen or even more 'outfits,' so that any desires can be met.
"Another curious custom is that poor people rent handsome coffins to be used during the funeral ceremony, the body being transferred to a plain unpainted box as soon as it reaches the cemetery.
"Funeral cards are printed in the newspapers along with the advertisements, and sometimes they have been inadvertently placed among the 'amusements.' They are also posted on the street corners and in other places where they can be seen, and printed cards heavily bordered with black are sent to relatives and friends. There is a fashionable card form for a funeral as much so as for a wedding, and it would be a great social blunder to vary from the conventional style. Friends and relatives must respond to these cards, and any one who has a large circle of acquaintance is obliged to write a good many notes of condolence in the course of a year.
"When we first arrived in the city we were somewhat surprised at the large number of people in mourning, until we learned that mourning is worn not only for relatives but for friends, and there is a prescribed time for which it must be worn in each case. Suppose a school-girl's father or mother dies, her companions put on mourning for fifteen days; if the girl herself dies they go into mourning for a month. The same rule holds throughout society, and there is also a rule that when one visits a house where the family is in mourning, the visitor must be costumed in mourning also. The result is that fashionable people are in mourning for a goodly part of the year, and a mourning suit, or dress, is a necessity for everybody's wardrobe.
"It is not the custom generally for ladies to attend funerals, but they send cards of condolence and make visits ofpésame(regret) immediately after the ceremony. Families in mourning are secluded from society very much as in other civilized countries.
"The old cemeteries which are now in the city limits are closed, and no more burials can be made there. They have a general resemblance to the cemeteries that we described in chapter xxii. of 'The Boy Travellers in South America.' Those who can afford permanent burial for their relatives or friends take a perpetual lease of the niche where the corpse is deposited; in such case the wordpropiedadis placed over the entrance, along with the date when the entombment was made. If only atemporary lease is taken, the remains are removed at the end of five years to make room for a new tenant. The bones are either buried in one of the new cemeteries or thrown into a pit, where the bones of hundreds who once breathed the air and walked the streets of Mexico are indiscriminately mingled. The new cemeteries are laid out in modern fashion; we visited those of Campo Florida and La Piedad and saw some very tasteful tombs, which indicated to us both the tender remembrance of the Mexicans for their dead and the skill of the designers of the monuments.
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT IN THE AMERICAN CEMETERY.
"We have also visited the English, French, German, and American cemeteries; all of them have recently increased their population with greater rapidity than formerly, owing to the influx of foreigners. In the American cemetery our attention was specially drawn to the monument which marks the resting-place of four hundred soldiers who fell in the attack upon Mexico, the circumstance of their death being told by a brief inscription. The English and American cemeteries are side by side,and as time goes on it is probable that both will need additional ground.
"A medical publication here gives the annual death-rate of the city of Mexico as about 37 in 1000, but it says that many Indians come here from the lower lands and die of exposure and the effects of the rarefied air at this great elevation. In one year recently there were 13,008 deaths, of which 5577 were males and 6431 females; 4292 deaths were from pneumonia, bronchitis, and pulmonary and tuberculous affections, and there were 179 deaths from small-pox. Diseases of the lungs are dreaded, and those who have resided here for any length of time take great precautions against them. It is not considered safe to remove the hat in the open air for any length of time, and a stranger should be very particular about venturing into a draught. He should also take care not to emerge suddenly from a dimly lighted room to the dazzling sunshine; the air at this elevation is very pure, and the light is consequently strong. We have been told that persons neglecting this precaution have become permanently blind."
TAKING THINGS EASY.
Frank and Fred had learned, before being long in Mexico, that there were many things to be avoided in the rarefied air of the valley, or, if not avoided, they should be taken with caution. Ascending stair-ways, or other laborious exercise, at an elevation of 7600 feet had to be done with deliberation, and the least unusual exertion was sure to put them out of breath. They were more sedate in their walking than in New York or other cities on or near the sea-level, and as for running, it was quite out of the question. Frank said he was sure that much of the traditional slowness of the people was due to their high elevation, and the need of taking things easily.
"Yes," replied Fred, "that's probably why this is the land of mañana. The people don't like exertion, and so they put off till to-morrow everything that can be postponed, together with many things that have been positively promised for to-day."
"If they had been in a more northerly climate," said Frank, "it is probable that the Mexicans would be more advanced than we find them. Their location in the tropics has not been to their advantage. The opening of our railways will connect them with northern climes, and if we can fill the Valley of Mexico with our atmosphere it may enable them to breathe quicker than they do now."
A CHARCOAL PEDDLER.
The attention of the youths was turned from the elevation and atmosphere to some of the customs of the country, which they had learned from their guide or from others. They were told that it was estimated thatabout one-fifth the population was in household or domestic service in one form or another, directly or indirectly. The direct form would include those attached to a household, the indirect those who supply water, wood, charcoal, and other necessities of life, or perform outside work for families or individuals. The wages are low, but a great many servants are employed, so that the aggregate foots up to a large amount.
"There are from ten to twenty servants employed in a house," wrote Fred, "and we are told that large establishments will have thirty or even more. It is very much here as we found it in India—a great number of people, each with an allotted thing to do, and a servant would risk losing his place rather than do anything that belonged to another.
"Here's a list," he added, "that I have copied from the description of a Mexican household by an American visitor:portero, door-keeper;cochero, coachman;lacayo, footman;caballerango, hostler;mozo, man of all sorts of work;cargador, public carrier;camarista, chamber-man in a hotel, or valet in a private house;recamerera, chamber-maid in a private house;ama de llaves, house-keeper, 'mistress of the keys;'cocinera, cook;galopina, kitchen girl;pilmana, nurse-maid.
"There are other servants, such as themolendera, the woman who grinds the corn (for making tortillas); thecosturera, sewing-woman; or theplanchadora, ironing-woman. The most important servant is theportero, who has general charge of the house, and sometimes of a large building in which several families live. He is the exact counterpart of the German door-keeper, and, like him, generally lives with his family in a narrow retreat, which is situated so that he can command the entrance and observe who comes in or goes out. Servants do not change places as often as in England or the United States. It is by no means rare for them to spend their entire lives with a family; their parents before them served it, and their children will do so when they themselves are gone.
"The cook receives from two to five dollars a month, and chamber-maids and seamstresses the same. The men-servants are paid from ten dollars a month upwards, and out of their wages they are required to buy part of their food, and in some cases all of it. At least this is the theory, though the practice is that the employer really supports them, though indirectly. Servants are nearly always in debt to their employers, and this state of affaire is encouraged by law, as they are not allowed to leave a place as long as they are in debt. The only way in which this can be done is for the employer to assume the debt, pay the creditor, and then collect the amount by holding back a portion of the servant's wages each month till the obligation is discharged."
When Fred read aloud the foregoing account of the Mexican servantsand their ways, Doctor Bronson suggested that he might add something about thelavanderas, or laundresses.
"That's so," replied the youth; "I had forgotten about them for the moment." Then he sat down and wrote as follows:
"Some of the houses have laundries, where the washing is done; but many dwellings are not thus provided, and the clothes are taken outside to be cleansed. In the smaller cities the washing is done on the banks of a stream or lake; the clothes being first put into a tub or box and soaked in water in which soap has been dissolved; then they are pounded with sticks or stones and rubbed with the hands. The work is not done with gentleness, and a few trips to the laundry generally wear out garments made of ordinary material. Some of the lavanderas undertake to wash, starch, and iron the clothes, while others attend only to the washing, and leave the other work as a separate contract with the planchadora. The employer is generally expected to furnish soap for washing clothes, and very often the servants are supplied with it for their own use, in addition to their wages."
A MEXICAN WASH-HOUSE.
From laundries to the fine arts is a step from the practical to the æsthetic. After finishing their account of Mexican domestic service, Frank and Fred accompanied Doctor Bronson in a visit to the National School of Fine Arts, which is commonly spoken of as the Academy of San Carlos. It must not be understood that this was their first visit to thisexcellent institution; they had been there several times, and it was their intention to continue to look at the paintings in the Academy whenever they had an hour or two to spare.
THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS.
Within ten years after the arrival of Cortez a college was founded in the city of Mexico by one of the Franciscan brothers, and to this college departments of music and drawing were attached. This may be considered the parent art school of Mexico, and from it is descended the Academy of Fine Arts as we see it to-day. No great progress was made in art matters until near the end of the sixteenth century, when a Spanish artist, Sebastian Arteaga, came to Mexico, and was shortly followed by Vasquez and Echave, the last-named being accompanied by his wife, who was an accomplished painter, and is traditionally said to have been Echave's teacher.
The seventeenth century brought several artists from Spain, and they did some good work; at the same time native talent began to assert itself, and several artists and sculptors of Indian blood made for themselves lasting names. In the eighteenth century the most noted artist, who was also sculptor and architect, was Tresguerras, a native of Zelaya, in the State of Guanajuato, on the line of the Mexican Central Railway, and he deserves more than passing mention.
MEXICAN SCULPTURE.—DOOR-WAY OF CHURCH OF SAN JOSÉ.
The Church of Our Lady of Carmen, at Zelaya, was designed by Tresguerras, and is famous throughout Mexico for its beauty and artistic proportions. The tower and dome are especially the admiration of architects and artists, and the whole effect of the structure, whether in a near or a distant view, is most agreeable. The interior is adorned with frescoes and paintings in oil by Tresguerras, and he has been, not inappropriately, styled "the Michael Angelo of Mexico."
Frank and Fred gleaned the foregoing information from Mr. Janvier's "Mexican Guide," during their first visit to the Academy, and they also learned from the same excellent authority that the present Academy had its actual beginning in 1779 through a school of engraving established in the mint. The success of the engraving school and the general interest in it caused the director of the mint to seek the permission of the viceroy to establish schools of painting, sculpture, and architecture; and the permission was readily granted. Later the matter was referred to the King, who issued, in December, 1783, an order for the foundation of the Academy. On the 4th of November, 1785, the formal opening of the Academia de las Nobles Artes de San Carlos de la Nueva España took place, and this is the institution which the youths visited on repeated occasions whenever they had any spare time on their hands. It is proper to say that the school was originally opened in the mint, but in 1791 it was removed to the building where it now is.
Like most other institutions of Mexico, it has had many ups and downs, consequent upon the political changes through which the country has passed. At present it has an allowance of about $35,000 annually from the Government, and is regularly a Government affair, its name having been changed in 1868 to the National School of the Fine Arts. Prizes are given for meritorious work by the students, all tuition is free, and there is an average attendance of about one hundred throughout the year. One prize which is specially sought is an allowance of $600 a year for six years to enable the recipient to study art in Italy. Within the last few years night classes have been established for working-people, and have been well attended.
"We will not undertake to give you a list of all the paintings we saw," wrote Frank, "nor even a part of them, as in any event it would be tedious to anybody at a distance. The pictures are arranged in three large galleries and two small ones, and they are grouped together according to their age and the nativity of their painters. One gallery contains paintings by the old masters of Europe, another is devoted to old Mexican masters, and another to pupils of the Academy.
LAS CASAS PROTECTING THE AZTECS.
"The finest picture in the last-named collection, that of the pupils of the Academy, is by Felix Parra, and is entitled 'Las Casas protecting the Aztecs.' Parra painted it before he had seen any country except Mexico, and he received the first prize at the Academy of Rome on account of the merit displayed in this work. I will not attempt to describe the painting, but send a photograph by which you may judge of it. The coloring is, of course, lost in the photograph, but you can get an idea of the drawing andthe sentiment of the picture. Las Casas is represented standing on the steps of a teocalli, and at his feet is the dead body of a Mexican chief, who has been slain by the Spaniards; while an Aztec woman clings imploringly to the robe of the priest.
"The painting is a historic one, and the story it illustrates is this:
"Las Casas was a Spanish prelate who accompanied Columbus to the West Indies and afterwards came to Mexico. He was horrified at the treatment of the natives by their conquerors, and he crossed the ocean no less than twelve times to intercede with the King of Spain in their behalf. He was unsuccessful in nearly all his efforts, though he finally persuaded the Emperor Charles V. to make some effort to redress the wrongs which the Indians were suffering at the hands of the Spaniards. He risked his life on many occasions on behalf of the natives, as we read in Prescott's histories, and when the Emperor offered him the bishopric of Cuzco, one of the richest appointments in the Spanish colonies, he declined it and accepted that of Chiapas, one of the poorest and most ignorant. He died in Madrid in 1566, at the age of ninety-two years.
"Every time we visit the gallery we linger in front of this picture, and are never weary of admiring and studying it. Many good critics pronounce it not only the best painting in the gallery where it hangs, but the best in the entire collection of the Academy. This is high praise, indeed, when we remember that the Academy has works by Leonardo da Vinci, Murillo, Rubens, Correggio, and Velasquez.
THE DEATH OF ATALA.
"Another fine painting of the modern Mexican school is the 'Death of Atala.' Felix Parra is represented by other works in addition to the Las Casas; one of these is 'The Massacre in the Temple,' which also has historic value. It illustrates the butchery of the natives in the temple by Alvarado, whom Cortez had left at the capital city while he personally went to the coast to meet the ships and troops that had been sent from Cuba to reinforce the invading army. As the history of Mexico was closely identified with the Church down to within twenty years or so, it naturally occurs that nearly all the paintings of former days are of a religious character, just as we find the paintings in the galleries of Europe."
A SUCCESSFUL ARTIST AT WORK.
One day in their visit to the Academy the youths met a gentleman to whom they had been previously introduced, and one of them asked if the wealthy people of Mexico gave much encouragement to native art.
"I'm sorry to say they do not," was the reply. "It has not yet become the fashion to buy modern paintings, but some of our rich men are setting the example, and as the country becomes developed and morewealthy, the example may be followed. But just at present the best patrons of art are thepulqueshops, and as their patrons are not very critical, it does not require a high talent to meet their wants. In private houses there is a greater demand for huge mirrors than for fine paintings, and the value of the plate-glass mirrors in the city of Mexico is far beyond that of the modern works of art to be found here. Many an artist of fair promise has been obliged to abandon the dream of his life, and obtain a living by painting for thepulquerias, or selling silk and woollens behind the counter of a shop."
The gentleman then told a story of a native artist who had painted a canvas some eight feet by six, representing "The Landing of Columbus." Months and months passed and he could not find a purchaser though he lowered his price to half its original figure; then at the advice of a friend he made a few changes in the ships, costumes, coloring, and scenery, and entitled the picture "Evacuation of Mexico by the French." In less than a week he found a customer who made not the least objection to the price which was set upon the work.
The mention of pulquerias naturally drew attention to those establishments, which abound in Mexico as do beer shops in New York. Fred undertook an essay concerning them and the substance in which they deal.
"Pulque is the product of theAgave Mexicana, or maguey plant," wrote the youth, "and a description of Mexico without a reference to it would be like 'Hamlet' without Hamlet. It is the beverage of Mexico as beer is that of Germany and wine the drink of France. Along the line of the railway, as we were coming southward, we passed many fields of maguey, and several times we saw the collectors gathering the juice of the plant for conversion into pulque.
"Nobody knows when pulque was invented, as it was in use here centuries before Cortez was born. There are many fables concerning it, and like most fables of the kind, the discovery of the use which could be made of the juice of the maguey is generally attributed to the gods. One more practicable fable is that a Toltec noble discovered it and sent some of the pulque to the King, by the hand of his daughter, Xochitl. The King was so delighted with the drink and the maiden that he swallowed the former and married the latter, and their son succeeded him as king. This was the beginning of the downfall of the Toltecs and their extinction as a nation,but the art of making pulque was not lost; the name of the lovely Xochitl has been preserved in the Aztec name of the beverage,ochtl. During our war with Mexico the soldiers under Generals Taylor and Scott drank the liquid, and in attempting to pronounce its Aztec name they generally got no nearer to it than 'cocktail.' They carried the word back to the States, and Doctor Bronson tells us that it is occasionally heard there at this day in clubs and hotels, where it is applied to beverages in which spirits, bitters, and other ingredients are mingled.
MAGUEY PLANT.
"The maguey belongs to the cactus family of plants, and there are said to be forty varieties of it. Twenty-two yieldaguamiel, or honey-water, from which pulque is made, and the others are used for hedges and for making paper, cords, and other things. In former times the natives are said to have had not less than a hundred uses for the maguey plant in addition to its production of pulque. They made paper from the pulp of the leaves, cords and thread from the fibre, needles from the thorns, shingles and troughs from the leaves, and the little clothing they wore was generally made from the thread derived from the maguey. The leaves are sometimes ten feet long by a foot wide, and like the leaves of the other members of the cactus family, they are of great thickness.
"When the maguey plant is about ten years old it sends up a singlestalk in the centre which often rises to a height of twenty-five or thirty feet. This stalk is covered with flowers, hundreds and sometimes thousands of them, and they are of a yellowish green color. After blossoming the plant dies, very much as does the sago-tree and some other tropical growths; a single blossoming is all that it is capable of in its lifetime. And here is where the pulque comes in, or, rather, comes out.
THE TLACHIQUERO.
"The Indians watch the plants closely when the flower-stalk is expected to appear, and just at the right time they cut out the centre of the stem, leaving a hollow as large over as an ordinary washbowl but a good deal deeper. The sap, which was intended to nourish the flower-stalk, flows into this cavity, and flows so rapidly that it must be emptied every few hours. The leaves on one side of the plant are cut away so that the cavity can be reached, and then thetlachiquero, or collector, makes his rounds.
EXTRACTING AGUAMIEL.
"He is equipped with a gourd open at both ends; inserting the broad end into the cavity, he sucks up the juice (aguamiel), and then deposits it in a pig-skin hanging over his back, or in pig-skins or earthen jars on the back of a donkey.
"The aguamiel is carried to the central station of the establishment, where it is poured into shallow vats of pig or cow skin. There it ferments and becomes pulque, a vile-smelling liquid which is said to taste like stale buttermilk; it is almost always repulsive to the stranger, and sometimes one who comes within smelling distance of pulque for the first time is made ill by it. A good maguey yields from eight to fifteen pints daily, and continues to do so for three or four months; and a good estate of maguey plants is more certain in the revenue it brings to the owner than any other enterprise. The plants thrive in the poorest soil where hardly anything else can live.
"A scientific writer on this subject says: 'An analysis of aguamiel gives glucose, sugar, and water as the principal ingredients; it froths when shaken, gives an abundant precipitate with subacetate of lead, and when filtered the resultant liquor is colorless. Pulque is the product of the fermentation of aguamiel, is an alcoholic, mucilaginous liquid, holding in suspension white corpuscles, which give it its color, and has an odor and taste peculiar to itself. It is more or less sugary according to its strength, and contains about six per cent. of alcohol.'
"Pulque is sent from the estates along the railway in barrels and pig-skins, and the amount consumed in the capital is about 80,000 gallons daily. There is a pulque train daily to the city; we passed it at a side-track, and easily detected its presence by the smell of fermentation.
"The pulque shops are as discernible to the nose as to the eye; they are numerous in all the cities and large towns, and very properly are under the eyes of the police. There are 820 of these shops in the city of Mexico. They pay a license fee to the Government as do beer and wine shops in European countries, and the law requires that they shall close at 6p.m.; and, what strikes a New Yorker with astonishment, it is enforced, too. The city derives a revenue of a thousand dollars a day from the pulque brought here for sale, in addition to what it receives for shop licenses; the railway probably gets a thousand dollars also for the daily transportation, and altogether the national drink of Mexico costs a great deal of money.