Press enter after choosing selection

Miscellany

Miscellany image
Parent Issue
Day
23
Month
October
Year
1847
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

In Mexico, Q3 elsewherp, the Indian. in social posiiion, tnnds below the white man, and ihe negro below the Indian ; and, as n genernl rule, the slighter ihe admixture of colored blond, ihe more ma'ked is the energy and the inlenf, and ihe more e!ev;t the rank. Theie are very few negroesin Mexico. Tliegi-pai massol'ihe population are Indian. 'l'hey are the "hewers of wood nnd the drawers of watr." All ihe menial offices of lile nre performpd ly ihein. Thev are m"sernblv pooi. pnoratit, nnd drgrnded. The cmmon soldier.s in the nrmv are nlmosl I without exception Indinn; the lovver officers are mo.n oi mixed blond. 'J'he higher officers are nt-nrly all white men, eilher nntives of Spain, or the descendantsof Spanish ancetors, with pure Castilian blood coursing in their veins. - Thero are exceptions to ihe rule ; hut that these exceptions nre very rare, no one familiar with society in Mexico, will dercy. The re are tlires sources of amusement in Mexico - the 'Jipatrr, the ball-ruom, and the cock-pit. These places are usually thronged ; nnd here the mo-t r.peclalile of the nhabit:in!s are continually seen united willi ihe most dissolute and depraved. There are few boolts in MfXco, and no literary taste. The Inblies ore ilniost entirelv uneducated. Fhere are no fi resides in Mexico, and as an unavoidable consequence perhaps, none of those social g;ilherings, none of those domesticenjoy ments which clieer the héarths of thenorih - vvhic-h cause the current of human nffeciion 1o flow s wannly dnring ihnse long evenings, when the snows tof winter whiien the land. The cold storms which swcpp over ihe bleak billa of noithern latitudes, strip ping vege;ati"n of its verdure, ond e.xiernal nature of is cfiarnis, compel llmse who ore driven lu iheir homes lo ñnd enjnyment in social intercourse and the comniingling of hearts ; and ihus the freezing winds kindie anil fan t'ie warm dames of affection. It is iiltviiys in wh.it is ca)!ed an unenngenial cliine that the treasu,-es of the mind and tlie iieart ni'st luxuriantly thrive. - VVhere the mind is uncultivntcd rnrety Hoes one meet wilh dpep and lating ernotion. Thcie may be flash of impptuous passion, bul sekloin, if ever, the deq flow of s'rong and uriutterable ovp. Anrl consequemly an uninteüectual perple know not where to look for joy, but 10 the tlientres, and dancing moms and garning tables - it s perhnps their misfortune as mucli M tivir fault ; how cboTi !c g mu-t ilinl life be whero liome mfans notiiing but house - a plat.-e to eat and i'eep in, and to escape from as consi.inllv and perspveringly as possiule. Thero are palaces, nna housps, and hovel?, in Mevico, but very few homes. Thero is hanily any thing more marvellous in tiie bUlory ofibi? human niind, ihan the infl lenoe ncquired l.y tli Romi-h (irie-tliood over the popjilütinn of C.itiiolic coyrrtries. In no pari of ihc Wrld is the influence of the Romi.-sh priesis moro poiverful tlian in Mexico. - It is indeed a si rang and ye'. nut uncomiTion spcctai Ie, lo see a band of soldier carrying thrcugh the streft a prieflt in a state of brutnl iritoxic.-ilinn. wham (licy havp rescued from thomi'P, nni lenderly cherishing him unrier t lie influence of pp. ligious nwe aridSreneraiion. Tlio ofiice of ii priest s, n the public pyc, so exahed, that the impeifections of the man, "'h' for the lime happens to fill it, are inperceptiblo. There aresome of lbo tiigher order of the clprgy who gve evidence of sincerity and piety, to whir.h il would scem that 110 person of ordinary inlolligfncn eould be blind. The luwcr order ; of clergy do nut even prelend. to decency nf characier, and no one claims it for thcni. I Al'ter Cortez had taken possrs=ion of the city of Mexico, tl: ree hunjred yrars ago, his army rnuidly melted away undr the influpiico of disenso and the sword, until at Uut but tliirteen bundre.l men vvere lefi to keep pnssession of the caplured copital. The Mexicans exaspera!ed.by, the cruelly with (vhich their conquere'rs liad Ireated lhem, and seei$:_' their weakness, rose ngainst the Spaniards. - For-'several diys nnd nighls the batile rnged with uninlermilted fury, and ihe slaughier on bolh sides wa.i dreadful. - At ength Cortez, leaving ïjine hundred of his men dead in !he street, suoeeeded in reaching the tnp of a hill a fuw miles Trom the city, with but four hundrod sur-s vivors. The night irr which Cortez effected ihis snnguinary retreot is still familiar to every Mexican as tho noche riste or woeful night. VVhiIon ihis hill Cortez fmind in tho kr:apsack of a soldier a muuiated alabaster doll, about eight inches high, eyelesa and noseles?. Awnre of tho fatiaiirism of lus o Hier f, this shrewd wnnior exhibited the doll as au image of the Virgin Mary, which h;id bf-en sent to him from he'iven, ond ihal a'ie had promised t secure 10 them a victory. Aüimated by this a-su ra nee the little band out thir way out (Vnm their difRculi iep, and Coriezsoon again in vadeo nnd conquerrd Me-ico. On ihe topufthe hill he immediat'Iy cected n clm.iel, in which h pla'-ej the miraculous ininge. - And there i he noRlfss c3 I1 now h - atid tliere it has been for three hundred years, wiih v:ix tipers iucessntuly buruhig before it, and fheióa of honor in eiMiatunl ntlendnncp. Dignilieil wilh th nitme ol' 'Our Lady c.f Remedie--," this chüd's plnyliiing is now, and for three hundred ye&rs has been, an object of venen ton anH of ndonition to all Mexino. "Our LaHy" rejniras in po;ticonts of diamonds, pearls, and emfr.ilds. When any pestilence U in the ci.v, as soon as il bgins toábate, 'Our Lndy of Remedie-i" is carried to the infeeied quarier in solemn procession, and the gradual disappearance ,f the disease ;s of cour-e attributed to her agency. The anniversm-y of the presentation of this mnge t Cortez is the most celehrated religious festival observe! in Mexico. A conciurse of a hundred thou:-and people are usually a-sembled round the cha el on this occasion. And toexpress a doubt, in any pnrt of Mexico, respeuting the célestm] origin of "Our Lady of Remedies," nnd the efficacy of her i"terce?sion, would bs regarded as

Article

Subjects
Signal of Liberty
Old News