Chapter 1

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EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY

664

TRAVEL & TOPOGRAPHY

Everyman, I will go with thee, and be thy guide, In thy most need to go by thy side.

FRANCES CALDERON DE LA BARCA, born in Edinburgh, 1804, the daughter of William Inglis. After her father's death she settled in America, where she married the Spanish diplomat, Don Angel Calderon de la Barca. She accompanied him on his various appointments to Mexico, Washington, and finally to Madrid, where she was created Marquesa de Calderon de la Barca by Alfonso XII and died in 1882.

FRANCES CALDERON DE LA BARCA

LIFE IN MEXICO

INTRODUCTION BY MANUEL ROMERO DE TERREROS MARQUES DE SAN FRANCISCO

First published 1843

INTRODUCTION

In the year 1843, two new books took the American public by storm: one was Prescott's _History of the Conquest of Mexico_, and the other _Life in Mexico_ by Madame Calderon de la Barca. William Hickling Prescott was already known as an able historian on account of his scholarly _Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain_ which had appeared four years before and elicited praise from all quarters; but his new work outran the former in that the author had succeeded in depicting one of the most stirring episodes of history with the grandeur of an epic and the interest of a novel.

It was therefore natural that a book with Prescott's endorsement should be favourably received by the general public; but _Life in Mexico_ immediately attained wide circulation on its own merits, and was received with unbounded enthusiasm. Soon the slight veil that pretended to hide the author's name was drawn aside and Madame Calderon de la Barca became famous in literary and social circles.

Frances Erskine Inglis was born in Edinburgh in the year 1804. Her father, William Inglis, belonged to a distinguished Scottish family, related to the Earls of Buchan, and was a grandson of a gallant Colonel Gardiner who fell in the battle of Prestonpans, while her mother, a Miss Stern before her marriage, was a celebrated beauty of her time.

Fanny, as Frances was familiarly called, was still very young when her father found himself in financial difficulties and decided to retire with his family to Normandy where living was supposed to be cheaper. But William Inglis died a few years later, and his widow determined to settle in America. In the United States Mrs. Inglis established a private school first in Boston, later in Staten Island, and finally in Baltimore, and her daughter was a great help, for she immediately revealed herself as an excellent teacher. Besides, Fanny became a great friend of Ticknor, Lowell, Longfellow, and especially of Prescott, who thought her "ever lively and _spirituelle_."

In 1836 a Special Diplomatic Mission from Spain arrived at Washington, and at its head came Don Angel Calderon de la Barca, a gentleman of high social standing and an accomplished man of letters, who, naturally enough, soon established literary relations with William Prescott, then at work on his _History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella_. In this connection he became acquainted with many of Prescott's friends, the Inglis ladies among others, and the result was that he fell in love with the accomplished Fanny, and married her in 1838. Shortly afterwards Don Angel was appointed Isabel II's Minister to Mexico, the first Spanish Envoy to the young Republic that had formerly been the Kingdom of New Spain. The newly married couple, accordingly, started on their journey to Mexico, which was destined to be a long one, even for those days, for they left New York on October 27th and did not reach their destination until the 26th of the following December.

Calderon's mission to Mexico lasted somewhat more than two years, during which time he and his wife, says Prescott, "lived much at their ease," and "were regaled _en prince_." In spite of Don Angel's delicate diplomatic duties and her own frequent social engagements and strenuous excursions, Fanny Inglis Calderon found time to write almost daily letters, most of them of considerable length, to relatives and friends. These letters constituted the basis of the present book when they were collected and published--with certain necessary omissions--simultaneously in London and Boston in 1843, under the title of _Life in Mexico during a Residence of Two Years in that Country_. The book was provided with a short but substantial Preface by Prescott.

That same year saw Don Angel Calderon de la Barca transferred to Washington as Spanish Minister, a post in which he not only discharged his diplomatic duties with much ability, but also frequented the literary circles and even found time to translate several works into Spanish.

In 1853 Calderon was recalled to Spain by his government and arrived at Madrid on September 17th with his wife, who had recently become a Catholic. A year later, he was appointed Minister of State in the Cabinet of the Conde de San Luis, and thus became an actor in the troubled drama of that period of Isabel II's reign. When finally the unpopularity of the government culminated in a general rebellion, Calderon managed to escape the unjust fury of the rabble by hiding first in the Austrian, and later in the Danish Legation, until he was able to cross the frontier and take refuge in France. The events that Madame Calderon had witnessed in Spain moved her to write that entertaining book _The Attache in Madrid_, which, pretending to be a translation from the German, appeared in New York in 1856.

The Calderons were able to return to Spain after an absence of two years, but in 1861 Don Angel died at San Sebastian, just when he was expecting to move to a small villa which was being built for him nearby in picturesque Zarauz. Hard upon this event Madame Calderon retired to a convent across the Pyrenees, but shortly afterwards Queen Isabel asked her to come back and take charge of the education of her eldest daughter, the Infanta Isabel, a request which, though at first respectfully declined, was finally accepted by her. From that time on Madame Calderon became the constant companion of the Infanta Isabel, until the latter's marriage to the Count of Girgenti in 1868. She then returned to the United States, but only for a comparatively short time, for as soon as Alfonso XII came to the throne, Madame Calderon went back to Spain and was created by him Marquesa de Calderon de la Barca. Thenceforward she led a very quiet life until her death, in the Royal Palace of Madrid, on February 3rd, 1882.

Any radical change in the form of government is liable to be accompanied by disorders, and this is even more likely to be true in a country like Mexico, which has become famous for its frequent political troubles and has been aptly called "a land of unrest." In the eighteen-forties the country witnessed many plans, "pronunciamientos" and revolutions, which could not escape the vigilant mind of Madame Calderon, who often refers to them with a spice of delicate satire and irony which is not unkindly. After the long period of peaceful if unexciting viceregal rule, the government of the new republic had become the prey of political groups, headed by men who coveted the presidency chiefly impelled by a "vaulting ambition" which, in most cases "overleapt itself." Madame Calderon drew faithful portraits of many of the politicians of those days, not stinting her praise to such men of honour as Bustamante, nor hiding her sympathy towards the much reviled Santa Anna.

Naturally, as the wife of the Spanish Minister, she feels occasionally bound to dwell somewhat disparagingly upon the existing state of things, as compared with the excellences of the former viceregal regime. Thus, on visiting the older cities and establishments, she lays stress on the great benefits that the Mother Country had bestowed on her Colonies, an opinion that, she states, was shared by the most distinguished persons in Mexico, who missed the advantages of the days of yore: "I fear we live in a Paradise Lost," she exclaims, "which will not be regained in our days!"

But this does not mean to say that she withholds praise where praise is due. On more than one occasion she extols the valour of a soldier, the talent of a Minister like Cuevas, or the honesty and clearsightedness of a politician like Gutierrez de Estrada; and when she refers to the rivalry that arose between the different parties, she has unbounded praises for the cadets of the Military School, for their patriotic conduct and their loyalty to the legally established government.

In Madame Calderon's time the Mexican upper classes were an extension, so to speak, of the old viceregal society. Only the very young had not seen the Spanish flag flying over the public buildings or had not been more or less acquainted with the last viceroys. The presidential receptions of a Bustamante or a Santa Anna in the National Palace, just as during the short reign of Augustin I de Iturbide, were ablaze with brilliant uniforms, glittering decorations, fine dresses, and rich jewels, while at private parties the old family names and titles continued to be borne with the prestige of former colonial days.

On the other hand, the relations between lord and servant are faithfully portrayed by Madame Calderon de la Barca. Speaking of life in a _hacienda_, she describes how the lady of the house sat at the piano, while the employees and servants performed the typical dances of the country for the benefit of guests and relatives, without suggesting any idea of equality or disrespect, more or less in the fashion of the Middle Ages, when the lord and the lady of the manor sat at table with their servants, though the latter remained rigorously below the salt. With regard to the lower classes, Madame Calderon always sees the picturesque side of things which she describes vividly and colourfully.

It is to be regretted (particularly from a Mexican point of view) that Fanny Inglis, or her editor, should have thought it expedient only to give the first and last letters of the names of the more prominent persons of whom she speaks, a system which makes it difficult for a reader of later days to identify them, except in one or two cases. Many were the intimate friends of the Calderons, but especially the Conde de la Cortina, a well- known figure in society and in literary and scientific circles, the Marques and Marquesa de Vivanco, and the "Guera Rodriguez," (the "Fair Rodriguez"), a celebrated beauty of her time, who is said to have been greatly admired by no less a person than Alexander von Humboldt himself!

Naturally enough, Madame Calderon was a competent judge of her own sex and was alert to the good qualities as well as to the foibles of the ladies of Mexico, whose excessive fondness for diamonds and, in some cases, too showy dresses elicit her mild criticism.

Monastic life was one of the features of Mexico at that time. Most cities, large and small, were full of churches, monasteries, and convents; and Madame Calderon (who became a Catholic three years later) was not then well acquainted with the ceremonies and liturgy of the Church, and consequently falls into many errors on the subject; but when she describes her visit to a convent and the ceremony of the veiling of a nun, she writes some of her most picturesque and touching pages.

Madame Calderon does not stint her admiration for the great buildings of the country, both civil and religious, though her descriptions betray only too often the influence of the romantic age in which she lived.

Beautiful indeed as is her description of a garden in Tulancingo, she rises to real eloquence before some of "Nature's pageants," admiring a sunset over the Monastery of San Fernando, walking under the shade of the centennial trees of Chapultepec, or wandering within the gigantic Caverns of Cacahuamilpa, the recollection of which, she says, "rests upon the mind, like a marble dream," and where an unfortunate traveller, years before, had lost his way and met a tragic death.

Prescott's statement that Madame Calderon's letters were not intended originally for publication seems hardly credible; but, on the other hand, there is no proof for the suggestion that she had the letters of Madame D'Aulnoy in mind. Be that as it may, the fact is that just as the French Countess has left us a living picture of Spain in the late seventeenth century, in the same way the wife of the Spanish Minister drew a most faithful pen-portrait of the social, political, and even economic order, in Mexico in the early nineteenth.

As to Madame Calderon de la Barca's personal appearance, since a portrait of her, which is said to exist in the possession of a relative, has never been published, the reader is free to imagine that lively lady as it may best suit his or her individual fancy. That she was clever, well-read, and an excellent judge of character, as well as a true lover of nature and a keen observer of manners and customs, is evident in her letters, which constitute by common consent a most entertaining and truly delectable narrative, which even the lapse of more than a century has not been able to mar.

MANUEL ROMERO DE TERREROS, Marques de San Francisco.

REFERENCES

_History of the Conquest of Mexico with the Life of the Conqueror Hernando Cortes, and a view of the Ancient Mexican Civilization_. New York, Harper & Bros., 1843.

_Life in Mexico, During a Residence of Two Years in That Country_, by Madame Calderon de la Barca, with a Preface by W. H. Prescott, author of The History of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, 1843.

_The Attaché in Madrid; or, Sketches of the Court of Isabella II_, translated from the German, New York, 1856.

_Prescott Unpublished Letters to Gayangos in the Library of the Hispanic Society of America_, edited with notes by Clara Louisa Penney, New York, 1927.

CONTENTS

GLOSSARY

LETTER THE FIRST

Departure of the "Norma"--Last look of New York Bay--Fellow passengers-- Contrary Winds--Deceitful Appearances--Sunset in Southern Latitudes--Seas passed over by Columbus--Varied Occupations on Shipboard--Berry Islands-- Bahama Banks--Evening in a Tropical Sea--L. E. L.--Pan of Matanzas--Morro Castle--Bay of Havana--Arrival--Handsome House in Havana--Sights and Sounds

LETTER THE SECOND

Havana Aristocracy--Lucia di Lammermoor--La Rossi and Montresor--Brig-of- war--Countess de V---a--Dinner at H---a's--Southerly Winds--View from the Balcony--_Quinta_ of Count V---a--San Cristobal--Mass at San Felipe--Erard Harp--Dinner at General M---o's--A Dessert at Havana--Queen of Spain's Birthday--Dinner at the Yntendencia--La Pantanelli--Theatre of Tacon-- Railroad--Cure by Lightning--Shops--Ball at the Countess F---a's Last Visit--Souvenirs

LETTER THE THIRD

Departure in the Jason--Spanish Captain and Officers--Life on board a Man- of-War--"_Balances_"--Fishing--"_Le Petit Tambour_"--Cocoa-nuts--A _Norte_--Spanish Proverb--Peak of Orizava--Theory and Practice--_Norte Chocolatero_--Contrary Winds--Chain of Mountains--Goleta

LETTER THE FOURTH

Distant View of Vera Cruz--Pilots--Boat from the City--Mutual Salutes-- Approach to Vera Cruz--Crowd on the Wharf--House of Don Dionisio V---o-- Guard of Honour--German Piano--Supper--Madonna--Aspect of the City-- _Sopilotes_--Deliberations--General Guadalupe Victoria--Two-headed Eagle-- Dilapidated Saint--Harp--Theatre--Doña Innocencia Martinez--Invitation from General Santa Anna

LETTER THE FIFTH

Departure from Vera Cruz--Sandhills--Oriental Scene--Manga de Clavo-- General Santa Anna--Breakfast--Escort and Diligence--Santa Fe--Puente Nacional--Bridge sketched by Mrs. Ward--Country in December--Don Miguel-- First Impressions--Fruit--Plan del Rio--German Musicians--Sleeping Captain--Approach to Jalapa--Appearance of the City--Cofre de Perote-- Flowers--House and Rock--Last View of Jalapa--Change of Scenery--San Miguel de los Soldados--Perote-Striking Scene before Day-break--Non- arrival of Escort--Yankee Coachman Dispute--Departure--Company of Lancers --Alcalde--Breakfast at La Ventilla--Pulque--Double Escort--Crosses-- Brigand-looking Tavern-keeper--Ojo de Agua-Arrival at Puebla-Dress of the Peasants--Christmas-eve-Inn-"_Nacimiento_"

LETTER THE SIXTH

Departure from Puebla--Chirimoyas--Rio Frio--Indian Game--Black Forest-- Valley of Mexico--Recollections of Tenochtitlan--Mexican Officer-- Reception--Scenery--Variety of Dresses--Cheers--Storm of Rain--Entry to Mexico--Buenavista--House by Daylight--Sights from the Windows--Visits-- Mexican Etiquette--Countess C---a--Flowers in December--Serenade-- Patriotic Hymn

LETTER THE SEVENTH

Début in Mexico--Cathedral--Temple of the Aztecs--Congregation--Stone of Sacrifices--Palace--Importunate Léperos--Visit to the President--Countess C---a--Street-cries--Tortilleras--_Sartor Resartus_

LETTER THE EIGHTH

Ball in Preparation--Agreeable Family--Fine Voices--Theatre--Smoking- Castle of Chapultepec--Viceroy Galvez--Montezuma's Cypress--Vice-Queen-- Valley of Mexico--New Year's Day--Opening of Congress--Visits from the Diplomatic Corps--Poblana Dress--"Función extraordinaria"--Theatre--Visit to the Cathedral of Guadalupe--Divine Painting--Bishop--Beggars-- Mosquitoes Eggs

LETTER THE NINTH

Visits from Spaniards--Visit from the President--Disquisition--Poblana Dress--Bernardo the Matador--Bull-fight extraordinary--Plaza de Toros-- Fireworks--Portrait of C---n--Fancy Ball--Dress-Costume of the Patronesses--Beauty in Mexico--Doctor's Visit--Cards of _faire part_-- Marquesa de San Roman--Toilet in Morning Visits of Ceremony--Attempt at Robbery--Murder of a Consul--La Gúera Rodriguez--Dr. Plan--M. de Humboldt --Anecdote--Former Customs

LETTER THE TENTH

San Fernando--House of Perez de Galvez--A Removal--Size of the Houses--Old Monastery--View by Sunset--Evening Visits--Mexican Etiquette--A Night-- view from the Azotea-Tacubaya--Magueys--Making of Pulque--Organos and Nopal--Environs of Mexico--Miracle--Hacienda--View from the Countess C--- a's House--Arzobispado--Anecdote--Comparative View of Beauty--Indians-- Rancheritas--Mexican Cordiality--Masses for the Dead--San Agustin--Form of Invitation--Death of a Senator--A Mistake

LETTER THE ELEVENTH

Calle de Tacuba--The Leap of Alvarado--The "Noche Triste"--Sale of a Curate's Goods--Padre Leon--Leprosy--Pictures--The Annunciation--The Alameda--Paseo de Bucarelli--The Viga--Indians in Canoes--A Murder--A Country Fête--Visit to the Colegia Vizcaino--The Jota Arragonesa--Old Soldiers

LETTER THE TWELFTH

The Viga during the Carnival--Variety of Equipages--The Millionaires--The Monks--Masked Ball--An Alarming Sight--Medical Students--Dinner at the Prussian Minister's--Rides on Horseback--Indian Love of Flowers--Santa Anita--The Chinampas--Their Origin--Indians in Canoes--Song of "El Palomo"--Fighting--The Great Lakes--The Drain of Huehuetoca--The Great Market of Tlatelolco

LETTER THE THIRTEENTH

Convent of San Joaquin--Mexico in the Morning--Tacuba--Carmelite Prior-- Convent Garden--Hacienda of Los Morales--El Olivar--A _Huacamaya_-- Humming-birds--Correspondence--Expected Consecration--Visit to the Mineria--Botanic Garden--Arbol de las Manitas--The Museum--Equestrian Statue--Academy of Painting and Sculpture--Disappointment

LETTER THE FOURTEENTH

Palm Sunday--Holy Thursday--Variety of Costumes--San Francisco--Santa Domingo--Santa Teresa--Nuns--Stone Bust--The Academy--Religious Procession--Pilgrimage to the Churches--Santa Clara--Nun's Voice--Orange- trees and Rose-bushes--The Cathedral Illuminated--Our Saviour in Chains-- Good Friday--The Great Square towards Evening--Dresses of Men, Women, and Children--Approach of the Host--Judas--Great Procession--_Miserere_--The Square by Moonlight--A Lonely Walk--_Sabado de Gloria_--Ball in Contemplation--Weekly Soirées--Embroidered Muslins--A Tertulia at Home

LETTER THE FIFTEENTH

Letter from the Archbishop--Visit to the "_Encarnación_"--Reception-- Description--The Novices--Convent Supper--Picturesque Scene--Sonata on the Organ--Attempt at Robbery--Alarms of the Household--Visit to San Agustin-- Anonymous Letter--The Virgin _de los Remedios_--Visit to the Chapel--The Padre--The Image--Anecdote of the Large Pearl--A Mine

LETTER THE SIXTEENTH

Mexico in May--Leave Mexico for Santiago--Coach of Charles X.--Mexican Travelling--General Aspect of the Country--Village of Santa Clara-- Robbers' House--Temples of the Sun and Moon--San Juan--Mexican Posada-- School-house--Skulls--Hard Fare--Travelling Dress--Sopayuca--Military Administrador--Santiago--Matadors and Picadors--Evenings in the Country-- Dances--Mexican Songs--Cempoala--Plaza de Toros--Skill of the Horsemen-- Omatusco--Accident--Tulansingo--Beautiful Garden--Mexican Dishes--Fruits-- Horses--Games of Forfeits--Ranchera's Dress--Young Girls and their Admirers--Verses--Knowledge of Simple Medicine--Indian Baths--Hidden Treasures--Anecdote

LETTER THE SEVENTEENTH

Arrival at Tepenacasco--Lake with Wild-ducks--Ruined Hacienda--Sunset on the Plains--Troop of Asses--Ride by Moonlight--Leave Tepenacasco--San Miguel--Description--Thunderstorm--Guasco--Journey to Real del Monte-- English Road--Scenery--Village of Real--Count de Regla--Director's House-- English Breakfast--Visit to the Mines--Mining Speculations--Grand Scenery --Visit to Regla--The Cascade--The Storm--Loneliness--A Journey in Storm and Darkness--Return to Tepenacasco--Journey to Sopacuya--Narrow Escape-- Famous Bull--Return to Mexico

LETTER THE EIGHTEENTH

English Ball--Dresses--Diamonds--Mineria--Arrival of the Pope's Bull-- Consecration of the Archbishop--Foreign Ministers--Splendour of the Cathedral--Description of the Ceremony

LETTER THE NINETEENTH

Mexican Servants--Anecdotes--Remedies--An unsafe Porter--Galopinas--The Reboso--The Sarape--Women-cooks--Foreign Servants--Characteristics of Mexican Servants--Servants' Wages--Nun of the Santa Teresa--Motives for Taking the Veil

LETTER THE TWENTIETH

The Convent Entry--Dialogue--A Chair in Church--Arrival of the Nun--Dress --José Maria--Crowd--Withdrawal of the Black Curtain--The Taking of the Veil--The Sermon--A Dead Body--Another Victim--Convent of the Encarnación --Attempt at a Hymn--Invitation--Morning Visit--The Nun and her Mother-- Banquet--Taking Leave--Ceremony of the Veil-taking--A Beautiful Victim-- The Last Look--Presentation to the Bishop--Reflections--Verses

LETTER THE TWENTY-FIRST

San Agustin--The Gambling Fête--The Beauties of the Village--The Road from Mexico--Entry to San Agustin--The Gambling Houses--San Antonio--The Pedregal--Last Day of the Fête--The Cockpit--The Boxes--The Cock-fight-- Decorum--Comparisons--Dinner--Ball at Calvario--House of General Moran-- View of the Gambling Tables--The Advocate--Ball at the Plaza de Gallos-- Return to Mexico--Reflections--Conversation between two Ministers

LETTER THE TWENTY-SECOND

Countess C---a--Gutierrez Estrada--Dinner at General Moran's--Dowager Marquesa--Fête at San Antonio--Approach of the Rainy Season--Diamonds and Plate--Great Ball--Night Traveling--Severe Storm--Chapter of Accidents-- Corpus Christ!--Poblana Dress--Book Club--Ball--Humming Bird--Franciscan Friar--Missions to Old and New California--Zeal and Endurance of the Missionaries--Present Condition--Convent Gardener

LETTER THE TWENTY-THIRD

The President--Yturbide--Visit from the Archbishop--Señor Canedo--General Almonte--Señor Cuevas--Situation of an Archbishop in Mexico--Of Señor Posada--His Life--Mexican Charity--Wax Figures--Anecdote--Valuable Present--Education--Comparison--Schools--Opportunities--Natural Talent-- Annual--Compliments to the Mexican Ladies by the Editor--Families of the Old School--Morals--Indulgence--Manners--Love of Country--Colleges

LETTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH