National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-12-23

a.
remembers the beautiful Mexican onyx or
alabaster, displayed at the centennial eXhi-
btlon in Philadelphia, from which Dom Pc
dro purchased tables and mantels for the
imperial palace in Brazil. The exhaustless
ouarries from which It is taken are only six
leagues from this city, near village called
Trealli. So pure and translucent Is the
matchless material that windows are made
of II for the little church erected among the
auarries for the Catholic workmen. Slabs
of onyx-of marble whitencss with veins Of
pale green-polished almost to the thinncss
of glass, admit the most exquisitely soft
aud mellow light the Imagination can con
ceive.
Near the center Of the cityis an extensive
plaza, surrounded on two sides by edilices
erected on lofty arches, through which the
populace continually circulate rs NJ 30
iogne. The Hospital de San Pedro occupies
a large, cool convent in the midst OF n
great garden filed with fruits and flowers,
and is most well.ordered institution. 1t
is supported by the state, and with rare
impartiaity the government provides de-
partments side by side, for allopath and
homeopath, and all other paths OF ma
terra medica, giving each an equal showing.
The Casa de los Dementes, or lunatic
asylum, is also a state institution, and Is
located In what was formerly convent Tor
the nuns of Santa Rosa. The building was
decorated to suit their taste, and has an odd
but charming interior. Everything is coy.
cred with tiles-vestbule, stairs, central
court cloisters, fountains, balustrndcs,
benches-even the bath tubs, water tanks.
kitchen furnaces, and numberess little gar
den courts, all crusted with the most curl
Gus ceramics. OF its delightful court with
the blue aud yellow fountains playing IN
the center, Bishop says at Is more Moor
ish than anything In Morocco; II Is like
walking about in some magnificent piece of
iewelry." II corresponds with the ideas
of the land of the "Arablan Nights
Aladdin's palace materialiZed.
The celebrated Caroline College, which
has graduated many of MeXico's most emf
nent men, annually brings several thousand
students to Pupbla. Its flligrced vaults
contain fine museum aud very valuable
library of rare old books. The tower III
which President Diaz was confined when n
prisoner of war, and from which he es
capped by tearing the sheets into ropes aud
lowering himself out of the window, Is In
variably shown to travellers. Puebla is
closely connected with Diaz's career, and
his present proud position Is mostly due To
successes here His brilliant conduct when
the French attacked this city aud the val
liant defense of his line during the siege OF
1868 combined to make him popular nero
and led to his triumphal entry into
the City of Mexico as general-in-chief of
the forces which wrested IL from Maximil-
ian. The forts upon all the surrounding
hills that frown down upon the now peace
full city, like Mount Nalericn and Char
enton, above Paris, keep in constant re-
membrance that decisive cineo de Mayo 10Th
of May, the most prominent event III the
modern history of Mexico.
On the banks of a small stream that winds
around the eastern side of the city are two
paseos (promcnades), planted with rows of
trees among ilowery paths and fountains,
where the people spend much of their time,
and all the town turns out on moonlight
nights and Sunday mornings, when the
bands play. They are known as paseo bieJa
and paseo nurvo-the new and old walks
and are equally well patronized, for fashion
is rigorous in debating which shall he
visited on stated occasions, Gnd none dream
Of disobeying her DEGREES. Near the old
paseo, which is by far the pleasantest, are
the sulphur baths Of San Pedro, and not far
away is the ancient convent of San Xavier,
which was partially destroyed By the French
invasion.
In the middle of the grand plaza is sim
gular monumental bronze woman sitting
quietly on bronze horse which appears to
be In terrible state of excitement though
its rider is calm as summers morning,
So long ago was this alleged work of art
erected that the oldest inhabtant failed to
remember whom it was intended to honor,
but doubtless 1t was Donna arina CorteZ'
guide and interpreter. Tn. N0me Ma
linchen-to which the mountain back OF
the town is better mounment-was CON
ferred upon both her and Cortez by the
supplemented Aztecs. Here she is still al
most deitied as II saint and is con
sidered sort Of Indian egcria-the first
Christian woman In the Mexican empire.
True, her kind of Christianity would never
stand the test of nineteenth century ideas,
but was not unusual in her day: aud prob
ably she would not be quite saint In Mex
lean belief, had she not fallen from her high
estate in the cOnqucror's favor to become
u commonplace vie and mother-though
through no fault OF ler own. History tells
us that when Cortez-w wishing to get rid of
her because his wife aud children were com
ing from Cuba-gave her In marriage to
one of his captains, she went reluctantly and
with many tears. Poor Donna Marina!
Hers was never happy lot, She was pre-
scented to COrtez by the Indians Of Tobasco,
soon after his arrival In Mexico. Her
father was lord of many cities, and SHE had
fallen into n condition Of slavery through
the treachery of her own mother. Her I'M
natural parent, having remarked after the
death Of Marna's father. bestowed all her
affections upon the son of the second union,
and determined, In concert with the
boys father, that all their wealth should
pass to him. 1t happened that the daughter
of one of their slaves died, upon which they
gave out that the corpse was that OF their
own daughter, and pretended to mourn for
her-meanwhile selling her, Ia Joscph's
brethren, to some merchants of Gilcalanco'
The traders disposed OF her to their neigh
bors, the Tabascans, who afterward gave her
to the conqueror when she was about
twenty-three years old. which, in this south
land where women mature very early, is
considered at an age no longer eligible in
the matrimonial market. She Is said to
have been very beautiful, Of great talent,
and versed in many of the Indian dialects
Through her devotion to Cortez she proved
faithful friend to the Spaniards, and
served always as their Interpreter In nego-
tlations with the various tribes. She accom-
panied CorteZ in all his expeditions, he fol-
lowed her advice implicitly, and in the
whole history of the conquest OF Mexico,
"Donna Marina" 1.-THE name given to the
lovely slave on her Christian Daptism)
played an important part.
Bernal Diaz, the official reporter of the
expedition, Cortez's inseparable friend and
fellow rascal, writes In his home dispatches
that the number of "wlvesn which the zeal
Gus crusaders acquired among their cap
tives was 80 great that they were obliged to
brand them like cattle with heated irons,
as "the only means of distinguishing each
man his own property Happily, though,
"the mills of the gods grind slowly; they
grind exceedingly small.h
Cortez died a dlshonored and disappointed
man, after having squandered most OF his
ill-gotten gains in seeking new worlds to
conquer. His son and Donna Maiinas-
Martin Cortel, a knight of the Order Of
Santiago-was tortured to death on a
chnrne Of rebellion i'm the time OF Phillp ii.