Mexico weekly ledger., 1888-12-13
HoMEwARD BOUND.
Of Mexico and Start North
ward.

CITY oF MANGO, Nov. 29.-The
delegation of editors is Il happy
body this afternoon, for we have
arranged to start home in the
morning. We 20 10 Corpus Christi
and Galveston from here and after
visiting those cities the editors will
scatter for their homes throughout
the Union.
Yesterday the party visited the
Halls Of the Montezumas-the
home at President Diaz, This
grand palace and castle smpasses
anything / ever saw for mngniti-
cence.
notice that in improvements on
methods OF lighting the Mexicans
are far behind other nations
of the world. Candles are Yet
used nearly everywhere; and
another suggestion of the native
lack of enterprise and the spirit Of
progress is the use OF sandals.
Shoes are not worn much by any
class. The peasants 90 barefooted
throughout nearly the entire year.
One OF the refreshing things that
comes TO the notice Of a tourist is
the haste with which your guide
CLAIMS 80 Is per cent. of all the
money you pay siore-kcepers and
takirs, as his commission. Be
sides collecting this enormous fee,
he unblushingly extends his hand
f'T his pay rs guide when the
Traveller has done with him.
At the hotels here blackboards
serve rs registers.
The cathedrals here are magniti-
cent, but a traveller sees little Of
their beauty for the crowds of GRIP.
pied and sick begsars that throng
the a~isles, steps and corridors.
The contrast between these men
dicants and the solid gold and sill
yer decorations OF all sides is very
striking as well as displeasing,
The organ at one of the cathedrals
is fully as large as the Court House
at Mexico.
The girls here reach maturity at
an early age, the majority of them
finding husbands and settling down
as married at twelve or fifteen
years.
| am reminded of "a door at the
residence Of Diaz, which, [ was
told, cost 800, 900. From this an
idea o fthe cost of the impregnable
castle may be obtained.
The military receives great at
tention here, and a call, "to arms"
would fill the city with soldiers in
hour.
The bull fights form the leading
topic of conversation now, and the
bull fighters are the heroes of the
hour, but | will tell of that later.
MONTEREY, Sunday evening
The editorial party spent Saturday
at San Luis Potosi, a beautiful city.
We reached Monterey this morning
and were accorded a splendid re-
ceptlon, the festivities being
topped off with a bull fight. This
beautiful city of over 10000 in
habitants is situated on a plateau
1900 feet above the sea level;
nestles costly among the foot hills
of the grand old Sierra Madre, or
mother mountain, that looms sub
timely upward from the southwest
fully 1000 feet. Picturesque in
the extreme, her situation for
beauty is unsurpassed in either
republic, sheltered by her noun
tain bulwarks, empowered in her
charming groves Of orange, aguacate
and other semi-tropical trees, and
decked with her flowers of rarest
tint, she is to the traveller a real
panorama of beauty. Her streets
are narrow and her architecture is
borrowed by the Spanish from the
Moors, whence it dates back to
Ham and Shem. Quaint as it is,
it yet possesses a weird charm fol
every one who is so fortunate as tc
be able to yield himself to its
destinations.
We leave for Carpus Christi in 6
few moments and of our visit there
| will write later. Bob.