The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1893-05-12
WHERE sgecARs THRIVE.
Mexican Poverty Extremely Picturesque
to a Casual Observer.

to n Casual Obserter.
Chief among the many przzling ques-
tions with which my childish mind whiled
away the weary half hour Of a Sunday
morning sermon, was the existence of
beggars in Bible days. Ipictnred Pales-
tine to myself as land ofte1ples, tomoss
and gardens, inhabited by beggars and
Pharisees. Born and reared in the pros
porous west, poverty such as the scriptural
tales dimly suggested was to me thing
as vague as the He'll Of the same records,
fairy tale far more unreal than the sleep
ing palace or the caves of Aladdin. Now,
the puzzle is solved, have seen poverty,
l have been to Mexico, ! understand
Palestine. lean almost believe in horn
ed Satan and fire and brimstone. .,......
To casual observer Mexican poverty
is extremely picturesque, 1t is not an
imitation Of respectability such as the
humblest American will attempt, but It
is humanity in rags and nakedness, too
often in sores, almost always in DIRT.
There, begging is trade, the occupation
of all the poorer population. Beggars
infest the railroad stations at the interior
towns, and motley array it is. They
are Of all sexes, conditionsan ages, with
and without sores, the lame, the halt, and
the blind. Babies in arms holding out
dirty little hands for "certavo," old
women, young women, healthy little
boys, crippled grandfathers all whining
to the same tune in their mongrel Spanish
For the love of God, Senorita, give me
a cent"
Give them centsl l poured them
out upon them. Never had copper
= seemed of so much value. ! luxuriated
in their delight. Ibought out the porter,
the newsdealer and the conductor to
satisfy the want that never could be salts
-lfed forthere is friendly feeling among
these unfortunates, and when they find
one who will give, they spread the glad
tidings among all their class, and indeed
l suspected them of having discovered
some peculiar way of telegraphing the in.
formation to the next station, so besieged
was for charity. ~.
Some tourists who had been in the
, country before endeavored to impress me
with the fact that was encouraging idle
ness, but who would not be idle when the
sun was hot and water luxury and ever
for labor, money was not forthcoming
! They must live. To live they pust eat
} and it seems to me that in the more desc
late portion Of the country, to eat, they
! must beg.
' Very picturesque were they seen from
the car window in the soft gloom Of thu
: southern night, their dark eyes cleaning
: like stars under their quaint hat or still
more primitive head dress, their whit
! teeth glittering as the musical Spanisl
: rippled forth in compliments calculated
i to appeal to the generosity Of the senorit
: who seemed to them small sized Provi
dence. In the cruel glare Of the sun de
n fects became evident, and one saw tn
n coarseness in the squalor and dirt, still
never did they cease to be poetic. The
:. harmonized so perfectly with the back
81 ground Of cloudless sky, antique build
% ings, and tropical verdure. There was
n beauty even in their very ugliness whic
h was plea for their existence and in re
is membering the pleasantest journey G
sr nv life | shall always have very tende
as recollection of the beggars of Mexico
IA Edith NJ. Day in LeUfS q DrJden
~ ~ Raiiuay and Marine Gazette.