The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-17

| floor. therefore, is damp everywhere.
and near the walls muddy. At one end
is brasero,' not the neat, tiled affair
for charcoal, with holes on top and
draughts In the side. that one sees in
| towns, but n kind OF box made Of logs.
| raised from the ground on roughs legs
and filled with hard earth A small fire
OF green wood shoulders In the centre
of this, filling the room from time to
time with binding smoke. and around It
are three or four jars of coarse brown
pottery and a thin round platter OF I'M
glazed earthenware on which are baked
the tortillas. Near by is "a black stone
with a slight concavity on its upper sur
face and n primitive rolling pin of the
same substance resting upon 1t. on the
floor In the corner are some framed pc
tates, thin mats woven of palm or
rushes. This is all. and this IL home.
At night the family huddles together for
warmth with nothing but the 'petates'
between them and the damp ground.
They sleep in their clothes and try TO
cover themselves with their well worn
sarapes (blankets)."
That conveys. think. an exaggerated
impression of discomfort. In cold or
damp climate such a dwelling would be
| utter misery. The climate Of Mexico Is
during the greater part Of the year hot
and dry. on the high tablelands the
nights, II Is true, are chilly. but | have
| slept in huts with only light raincoat
around me and not felt the need of any
| other covering. The Indians like all
other peoples in a state OF nature, adapt
| their houses to their conditions of ex-
| istence.
Yet there Is one unfailing charm
about Mexican houses. That is the
| charm of flowers. All MexiCans love
| flowers. Their homes usually present
| To the street bare. unlovely walls hut
| very often you get glimpse of patio
where the sunlight fickers on green
leaves and vivid blossoms. Always yoI
may count upon such an interior even
| IL you cannot see il. These peeps into
gay garden courtyards are what ! re-
member when I think Of Mexican
| streets. 1t is the custom to build houses
round a green plot open to the sky.
| Sometimes there Is a loggia round this,
| a loggia into which all the rooms open
! (there being no "upstairs'), and where
| the household lives in warm weather,
cooled by the plash and tinkle Of foun-
| tain In the centre. or else the ground
floor may he given up to offices or
| stablinE. and, mounting a stairway.
| YOU come to n broad balcony screened
from the sun by thick trails of Towering
| creepcr. Delicious to wake up at half
| past of n November morning and
| luxuriate in hot sunshine az YOU go
across the patio or round the balcony
| to your bath.
Most hotels are built more or less
on this plan. which almost makes up
| for the hardness Of their pillows. The
Mexican idea of n pillow Is that 1t
should by its extreme discomfort pre-
vent you for as long as possible from
| falling asleep. Otherwise hotels are
| tolerabe The food is usually pleasant
| enough. Mexican dishes are always
| highly seasoned. sometimes painfully
| "hot T. the mouth" But a "mole,"
which is a fowl or a turkey served
with a thick, dark brown, slightly
sweet sauce all over It. is ~ good as
any curry. They have attractive modes
of cooking pork, for those who are
| hardy enough to eat it, In Mexico.
There is always fruit and always drink
| able coffee.
Woman servants are called "criadas"
and wear their hair down. either in
tails or falling loose around their Shout
| ders They can be trained into clever
| cooks. neat Mattresses and careful
housemalds. hut 1t is not often that
| they are SO trained. Much patience Is
| needed. 1t is useless to expect too
much of them. If they are scoded or
| worried, they simply leave without
| warning. They must be allowed to do
| their work more or less In their own
| way. Certain habits have to be
| checked l suppose nearly all cooks
use their fingers 10 test the tcmpera-
| ture Of soup. Mexican servants prac-
,ise even more unpleasant tricks until
they are taken in hand.
| They are sometimes inclined to pill
| fer. more from curiosity. | believe,
| than from a thieving propensity. But
| II is n libel to call them all dishonest,
| as many people in Mexico do. They
| have odd ideas which may make them
appear dishonest when they are not
| so. For instance a woman who washed
| for an acquaintance of mine in Mexico
| City told HIN one day she was going
to live In Toluca. lie paid her and
said goodhy. \ little later he discov-
cred that his lin press was short
of several sheets, pillow cases, &C; n
also rl.ssed rome shirts. Naturally he
concluded that the washerwoman had
| stolen them. Three months afterward
she called at his office and said that
she had left the missing articles at his
| rooms and would he please pay her?
| She had taken them to Toluca, washed
them, and kept them until she had
an opportunity to bring them back.
Time meant nothing TO her. Besides,
he had so many"