Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-06-05
In and about she CITY Of Mexico.

I'm and about the City of Mexico.
h The suburbs of Mexico are not by
any means beautiful, always of
[ course excepting the rock and grove
of Chapultepec. Just where, the
houses end stands the statue Of
Charles w., King of Spain, whose
legs were SO strong that he could
squeeze q horse until it was breath
less. Luckily he is not represented
in this act, and the sculptor has sue
leeeded in making one of the best
equestrian statues in the world.
From this point there is, a straight
drive called the CulzdCld de Ia Re
fornld, leading to Chapultepec,
which looks at the distance not an
like Windsor Castle wheIla viewed
from the other end of the famous
Long Walk. Here in the. after
moons all Mexico turns out to drive
in carriages or to ride on horseback.
The carriages here are almost all
made in Paris, and are, with the
exception of a few Victorias, alto
gether closed. The reason given
for this is that there is a rainy sea-
season of three months, and cOnse-
quently during all the other nine
months of the year the inhabitants
are obliged to use carriages only
good for wet weather. AS it is i'm
possible TO see into these carriages
when they are in motion, they are
drawn up in lines every now and
then SO that the occupants can have
good view of their friends as they
pass. The equestrian part of the
prom enaders is divided into two.
classes, those in English and those
in Mexican saddles. 1t would be
considered very bad form for per-
son riding imam English saddle to
dress in the Mexican style, but
when mounted on Mexican horse 4
aud in Mexican saddle the proper
dress is the leather trousers, jacket,
and sOnlbre7'o. The Mexican "SwelP"
is as particular about the number of
buttons down the outside Of his
trousers, the size, of his Sons6reyo,
and the hang of his sword as an
English fox-hunter is about the cut
of his cords or the spotleSsnesS of,
his boots. Many ladies also ride,
but they generally go out early in
the morning when there are no car
rfage5 in the PaSeo. Halfway be-
tween the statue of Charles Nv.
and the mountain of Chapultepec,
there is a sscircle," in the middle of
which statue has been erected to
Christopher Columbus, and here
the view of the two volcanoes, with
the rays of the setting sun tinting
their snow-clad SUBMITS with deli
cate roSe-cOlOr, is remarkably fine.
A row of trees has been planted on
either side of this drive, and they.
are quickly growing up; at present
there is no shade and great deal
of dust, for the watering cart has
not vet reached Mexico. However,
men carry some water in buckets
and sprinkle it over the dust, which
is generally about six inches deep,
but the results are scarcely satisfac-
tory.
As a rule the streets are clean, but
badly paved, and before the rainy
season sets in the sewers are opened
at every corner and emptied. Dur
ing this operation, the smells, which
are always somewhat offensive, be-
come intolerable, and no doubt
breed malaria and other sickneSses
that should not be known in city
so high above the level of the sea.
Through many of the streets excel
lent trainways run, and the cOnces-
sionnaire, who has a monopoly, is
fast becoming a millionaire. 1t is
amusing to see how easy the driver
and conductor take life. The driv-
g., al.
the front platform, and the conduc-
tor comes in every few minutes to
roll his cigarette and ask a paSsen-
ger for a light. Every one smokes,
often at times which in the states
would be considered rather out of
place.. For instance, a waiter will
smoke his cigarette while serving
dinner, and if he wants to use both
his hands at the same time, will lay
it down on the corner of the table
or any other coigR de Vdlt0ge.
The walters, who are generally
Mestizos, are about as bad as they
are made, stupid, inattentive, and
with a peculiar Looping gait, some
thing like the trot of a donkey or
Mexican pony. At the restaurants
in the city the food is generally
orally good and well-cooked. The
cookery is French, with few Mex
ican innovations, such as the use
of large quantities of chillis in
many dishes, and the perpetual fri
totes, or small black beans, with
which every meal invariably ends.
Fish is scarce and rarely good, the
principal one being the Huachina-
ugo, fish with very thick skin.
and rather tasteless and dry. Now
and then oysters are brought up
from the coast; they are very small,
something like those that grow on
the mapgrove trees in Cuba. They
are salt, with thick, rough shells,
and the Mexicans eat them with
their knives, rather difficult pro-
ceeding. Meat is fairly good, the
mutton being better than the beef.
The butchers think that Il bull fight
considerably improves the flavor of
| the beef so each animal that is kill-