The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1884-10-11

Monterey, the capital of Nueyn Leon,
and metropolis of northern Mexico, is
picturesquely situated in a sort of am
phitheatre among the mountains, their
huge, rugged forms towering over it in
every direction save the north, where
the valley widens out into the great
plains lying blue and purple in the dis
lance. Along the southern vista, be-
You'd the green valley of the arroyo,
and the gentle foothills crowned with
white-towered chapels and suburban
villas, extends the main range of the
Sierra, here lianked on either side by
the bold, detached peaks of La Mira
and Silla (the Mitre and Saddle) both
most appropriately named, as is made
evident at glance The Sierra proper
lifts itself in three distinct chains, one
serrated line above another, until they
fairly seem to lean against the sky,
with the summer clouds drifting laziiy
below. Especially is this true of an
early morning, when the rising mists
of the valley unite with them in pro-
ducing the fairy-like landscapes above
the clouds that form one of the chief
charms of Alpine scenery. In gazing
down any OF the narrow streets, and
indeed in every view of Monterey, this
rugged background is ever before the
eyes, distance being almost annihilated
by the rarefed atmosphere of the noun
tains.
To the newcomer, especially if escap-
ing from the rigors of Northern
winter, the first night in Monterey
offers q scene of enchantment. The
narrow streets, with their dead-walls Of
massive masonry, Hat-roofed para
peted houses, with balconies and
windows barred with iron gratings; the
slouching groups of loungers at the
street corners, wrapped to their ewes in
gaudy Serdpe, and shaded by sombreros
of immense dimensions-al have de-
lightfully foreign look. Even the ex-
ecrable pavements over which he is tor
tured in decrepit old hack propelled
by two deplorable specimens of horse
flesh, compared with which Don
Quixote's Rozinarte was q noble steed,
are pronounced unique, as they I'M
doubtedly are. But when the hotel is
reached and the traveller ushered into the
cool, shaded corridors of the 'Tturbide"
or Monterey" with its Moorish arched
colonnades and courtyard filled with
tropic shrubbery-well then his i'm
pression5 of Monterey are, perhaps, a
! little more Tose-coiored than they NAV
be a day on two later, when the novelty
has little worn away. VS. might
almost say, ian hOUT or two later" for
one of these hostelries is located in the
convent of the Capuchinos, and, how
| ever romantic the situation, the bare
! stone cells, cement-flOored and window
less, afford but sorry guest chambers.
! buried in their depths, a lamp is n8ces
sary even at midday; however, as the
artist observed, they are Just the thing
for a convention Of photographers,
where each would have his own dark
room" without extra trouble Or sx-
| pense.
Brought by the new railroad witHir
4 few hours travel of the United
States, Monterey is yet essentially as
! strange and foreign to American eyes.
as if the broad Atlantic rolled between,
and it were in the heart of Andalusiari
| Spain. Not only aresthe scenery, arch.
ftecture, language, ysTy picturesque,
But the varied dress ard customs of the
people, as exemplifedI ID the daily pan
Drama of street life, are even more so,
and are constant source of interest to
the new conner. The bells of the nu-
merous churches still keep up their con-
tinuGl iangle throughout the day; but
the shovel-hatted pa3re9 and Other
unsigned members of priesthood who
formerly constituted tbs most pictur.
gsque figure of Mexican street life,
have disappeared before the laws OF
reform, together with the contents and
| monasteries that gave them shelter,
While the Church has thus gone to de,
cay, the State is tlourishing at its ex.
pense, for soldiers are to be met with
| everywhere, and uniforms are as com.
mon as in the strongest garrisoned
| towns on the Continent. Hardly to be
distinguished from the SECULAR troops
SIZE the city police; clothed IN a sort OF
undress uniform, and listle brief an
| thority, armed with Il rusty old Toledo
| in lieu Of the regulation loCnst club, they
are O. verItable terror to eYiL-doerS, and,
in truth, most formidable body OF
men. To them it is due that Monterey
is to day the most quiet and orderly OF
cities; indeed, more so than most towns
| Ol us SlLC III lllC OlilCNAt CbGlJCSs men
| there are the cGrgnd0reS, or porters,,
who, numbered and licensed like draws,
OF which they are the only substitute,
may be seen bending under the most
tremendous burdens Provided with
only q straw pad to protect the head
they will move piano-f0rtes and otkeT
heavy articles of furniture from one end
Of the town to the other, and this wi sh
apparent ease, and for the most trifiBg
compensation. Another interest NO
character is the serene, or night watch
man, who is always going about with a
lantern, though, unlike his famous pre-
tlecessor, looking for dishonest man.
In storm or calm, throughout the long
watches of the night, his shrill voice
may be heard calling off the hours. with
the monotonous concluding formula of
az TODD eS Jaeno' (and all is well-a
custom brought down through force of
tradition from the old Moorish times in
Spain, when every city was an armed
fortress, and its inhabitants lived in
constant dread of being surprised by
the turbaned mosem. FrDnt II.
Br0o0n, in Harper'S Magazine.
Farmers, Care For Yourselves.