The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-23

\
city of Old Mexico is furnished the
e g by Mrs. o. W. Archibald
who has recently returned from an ex-
tended tip through that. interesting
country:
4 -sWezenspyed ten delightful days at Ii OF
/ springs, Ark, where we spent much oi
| our time on thorseback, riding over
mountains, through valleys and across
| streams and breathing enough fresh air
Ito last us through ONT soiourn. in Mexico
i CITY, where there was certainly a dearth
OF freshness iIfr the eMer-taiated at
| mospheref for after centuries of open
/ sewerage. pipes were being laid, and the
| nncrobe-lnfested soil was being turned
over to the benefit Of the cemeteries, in
tTwnich were being laid seven to eight hun
| dred poor ennaciated bodies every week.
san Antonio was our first stopping
/ place after leaving the Springs. It is a
very quaint old city. with many b lid
! .lngs of historical. interest, You know
| Texas has history all her own. OF
7 Which she can we'll be proud; it is a
| history of brave, enterprising men, fight
ing for and securing independence.
/ We found Texas south of San Antonio
| very uninteresting, with no vegetation
-butathe MESQUITE bushes to be seen. But
ugHness is comparative. and the mem
DRY Of mesquite bushes was delightful
after day or SO of travel through a
I parched, barren country, studded with
cacu of every. conceivable size and share
that desert offspring of Mother Earth.
Never before had l realized what rea
professional beggars We're. Dozens of
+ them crowded around the train at every
station-grown people and children, some
of the tots so small that they could
scarcely lisp their whining Una centavo,
senior Zone cent, sir. We noticed that,
! IN spite of poverty, ignorance ana care
IesSness of appearance. the houses that
made any pretense Of being more than
tent-shaped shelter of cacli, We're very
symmetrical in shape. They are bliiIt
Of abode, or suu-dried brick, with square
corners and straight walls.
Iss soon after passing over the noun
tains which help to form the rim of the
bowl in the center of which nestles the
city Of the Montezurna, we reached our
destination and helplessly resigned our
selves to the mercy of cabman, hose
blue Tin flag we afterwards learned deslg-
mated his carriage as first-class. We
were ratified through the Streets at a
RAPID pace to the Hotel Iturbid". apuilI-
ing of courts and balconies, which was
once the home of the Emperor ItTrbide.
whose reign was> shorter than that
of the unfortunate Macmillan, if not
quite SO brilliant. We felt that we were
indeed out of our own country when,
|. upon our return from the opera, we
found the. great, carved doors of the hotel
closed. After several resounding raps
with the iron knocker a sort of door
within the large door opened wide enough
! to adnit-ene Of US at time. Scarcely
had we passed into the court when our
/ door-keeper was4stretched upon the stone
floor, apparently sleeping as soundIy as
if nothing had occurred to distur5 his
slumbers.
| AFFECT POVERTY EVERYWHERE
1--WE were deeply impressed with the
| abject poverty and misery of the people
of the lower class. A great many men
| and boys We're employed in the streets,
| doing the work that horses and ma
! chinery do in the United States. They
have no 'eight-hour' regulations. Their
work day begins at o'clock and ends
! when kindly night wraps them in DARK
! ness too dense to be penetrated. And for
4 this slavery they receive the princely
sum of 80 cents, Mexican silver. which
amounts to Is cents in gold. Even in the
! national palace, or administration build
ing, where one would look for evidences
! of progress, we saw poor men walking
1 up inclined planks carrying great stones
/ of back-breaking. size, to oe used in re-
pairing the walls Of the Office Of Ptesi-
/ dent DiaZg
y L CSO1S6t WE spent oil IOQT Al the
| Alameda, listening to the music and
watching the Sunday morning post
| church promenade Of the Mexicans OF
| wealth and fashion. In vain did we gaze
| longingly at each face, looking for some
| trace of the enchanting. gIerious-eyed
/ beauty, famed. in song and story. There
were many faces passably good looking,
| and few that might be called pretty,
| but we looked upon a winsome, blue
eyed aiIblJr11- q irpd crir1 wit n
! slender figure and erect carriage, who
! passed us, as a Yeritable vision of love
! illness in COMPARISON with the Mexican
| girls. One could ina 6 ne sallow face,
| Invested Of superiuous powder, dark
! eyes and blue-black hair appearing very
| charming Below the graceful folds of a
| mant1'a, and rounded shoulders and
| voluptuous figure, that look awkward en-
| cased in modern corsets, might look very
different. draped in clinging folds Of
| soft material.
In spite of the fact that we had
| dreamed Of shops where cobwebby
drawn-work and sun-kissed opals were
! literally showered upon the customer for
| mere song, we soon discovered that
! almost the only cheap things in Mexico
| are native labor cab hire and flowers.
We simply reveled in roses. Why
shouldn't we, when 100 roses and 3cC
spicy carnations could be purchased for
25 cents of American money
| We felt that the tastes of the much
| criticised royal couple Macmillan and
| Carlota, were exquisite if they were
somewhat extravagant, wnen we drove
down the Paseo de la Reforma, the beau
! tfful boulevard laid out by them It Is
| lined with splendid trees, the boughs of
which meet overhead The boulevard
ends at the top OF Chapultepec. the site
Of the homes of the rulers of Mexico
since the time Of Montezuma. From the
| fiower-scented roof garden of the
| palace the eye feasts upon a scene en-
| chantingly beautiful scene of blue
| mountains, beautiful gardens, a city OF
| white stone and lovely suburbs. A
picture it was to the eye.
The most beautiful cathedrals Of this
| republic of churches, are not IN the
| capital city, although the cathedral in
| the City of Mexico is very attractive
! One could not help being impressed with
| the contrast between the magnifcence of
| the decorations, and the wretched
squalor of the poor wretches kneeling
| upon the bare floor.
The Church of Guadalupe Is very 81
tercsting with its pretty legend of Tie ap-
! pearance Of the Virgin to a pions Indian
upon whose blanket was impressed hei
| figure. The blanket is enrased in a frame
and hangs above an altar in the church
4 spring of mineral water, with healing
! qualities. flows from the rock where the
! Virgin stood We drank of the water
| and were assured that ali who drink
! therefrom will surely return to Mexico.
VISIT TO CUERNAVACA.
after a delightful week in the old city
we went down to Cuernavaca, situated
| about $50 miles south of the capital The
beauty of the scenery during the entire
! FIJI =,