The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1848-04-05

for their country by their government and pco.
pie, Let me relate to you another, in which
the party has not handled sword or musket, but
was equally entitled 10 assistance as if she had.
A few days since | was standing on Plateria
street, the Broadway of Mexico, in the richness
and splendor of the shops, conversing with an
officer Of the army, when we observed female
of prcpossessing appearance, in plain but
neat garb. and with child in her arms, travel.
ling from shop to shop, apparently soliciting
aims, hut without success. She was passing
us, with downcast eyes, when my companion,
who speaks Spanish auently, tapped her gently
on the shoulder, and desired to know if he could
assist her. Touched with the earnestncss and
delicacy of his manner. she candidly confessed
her object in travelling the streets, and in few
words told her story. Her husband was cap.
tain in the army, and received wound at 1lo-
limo del Rev. Of which he had died few weeks
before. The little money left at his death was
exhausted in a lew days-her friends and rela.
tivcs were all in Acapulco, three hundred miles
distant, and after vainly searching for employ
ment suited 10 her, she found she must beg or
that she and her child must. starve, and she
chose the former. My compartments purse was
soon in her hands, and as she walked off ne
yer saw poor creature so embarrassed as she
was in her endeavors to express her gratitude.
The beggars here are innumerabe, that is
professional bcggars. and one is beset with the
lame, the blind aud the deformed in every pos
sible manner, in every part Of the city, but par.
tcuIarly in the parts most resorlcd to ny the
Americans. a great number of them are SOL
dicrs who were wounecd in the battles oil the
valley, and have observed they never ask
Mexican for charity, but prefer begs ing from
Americans. We need not 90 far for the cause:
from the one they expect nothing, and the other
they have found TO possess heart alive to the
sulferings of felow.being, whe.ner he be
friend or foe. We have. too, lots of little beg.
gars, boys and girls, from or to 10 or ~
years old, and in no part of the world arc these
young hopefus more expert in the art, or more
pertnacous. Conspicuous among these Is
boy about 8 years old, who may be found at
some time or other during the day, at every one
of the public houses resorted to by the AmerI'
cans, and has possessed himself Of the open
sesame 10 the pockets of the most of them. As
he approaches, one expects to hear him speak
in Spanish, but is disappointed in hearing him
ask in good plain English, Good Mr.. Amer.
can, please give me a picayunc.' If he is not
attended TO-. or if he sees this appeal has no ci.
feet, he asks picayunc for poor blind boy
AMI when this fails he boldly demands pica-
yunc 'for one OF the bhoys,' which is seldom
denied. This is all the English he has, but it
is sufficient tor his purposes. | saw him 90
one of the coolest things to young gentleman
whom he had been bolhering for some time,
ever saw or heard Of Anxious TO get riI OF
him, the gentleman put his hand in his pocket
and finding no coin smaller than quarter of a
dollar, handed it to him. The little imp, who
is really blind deliberately. put his hand in his
pocket and pulled out dollar ingled the quar-.
lcr upon it TO ascertain if the gift was counter
felt!
CRY OF MEXICO, March l3.
In letter wrote you on the Sth inst, in
closed copy of an armisticc concluded at
Guadalupe on the ID, but as The conveyance by
which | wrolc is not always certain, inclosc
duplicate, together with interesting extracts
from the papers before and since that date. In
my letter Of the 9Th | briefly advcrlcd 10 the
armstice, in terms Of ccnsure. More mature
reflection has fixed me in the opinion then cx-
pressed in relation TO it, and the army, so far as
have been able to canvass its opinion, is unan-
imous in pronouncng this the most onc-sided
"mililary convention" we have had during the
war. Who is TO blame in the matter. is more
than can say. Every one of the parties con-
nectcd with it., has friends who are prolific in
iustficatory reasons, but some one either before
or behind the curtain is certainly TO blame, and
one hazards but little in prophcsyng that if the
peace proposition be not r,i(ied by both Go.
ucrnmcnts, all connected with the armiSlice
will regret the hand they had in it. If peace
be now made, nothing worse can ensun from
the armisticc than the loss of some hundreds OF
thousands of dollars Of military assessments to
the American Government. 1t may be, how.
ever, and such is by many supposed TO be The
fact, that the peace procc! provides that all the
military contributions due up to the time of the
ratification Of a treaty, shall be deducted from
the amount Of money proposed to be paid to
TO Mexico. If so, we shall then only suffer in
history exposing great superiority of Mexican
diplomacy.
From the tone ofthe papers received here
from the United States, but little doubt exists
that the so.callcd treaty will be ratified at
Washington, and we suppose the great question
with you now is, "will it be ratified by the Gov.
ernmcnt at Qucrctaro?' 1t is as difficult to
answer this question now RS it was a month ago.
and, judging from the inactivity oflhc Prcsi-
dent, and allowing him to be sincerely dcsirons
of peace, the presumption is that he is awaiting
intelligence of the ratification of the project at
Washington, to make an energetic effort to rs.
semble quorum Of Congress and to obtain its
approval. The friends his administration JUS
tiy his inactivity in this manner, and say if
Congress were assembled before the treaty
comes from Washington, his strength in the
body to obtain a ratification would be FILTERED
away by the debates and quarrcls oflhc mem.