The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-03-27

No Mexican house Is untidy, that
Is what in English would be called
'gentlemen's houses" The chairs.
like a well drilled regiment The
with their backs to the wall, Hook
furniture Is usually under covers; it
is arranged with g. precision which
gives one an icy feeling round the
heart.
On the walls will probably be pic
lures. Let Us not speak of them, but.
like Virgil and Dante, glance and
pass by" Very unconventional house
showing, and even a. few books lying
showing, and even few books, not,
of course. lying about. but in case or
on shelf. Rooms do not seem TO be
lived In. They are like show rooms
In some great house" through which
q glibly respectable parrot houseArep-
er leads parties of gaping touris,
visitors.
Yet there is one unfaillng charm
about Mexican houses. That is the
charm of flowers. All Mexicans love
flowers. Their homes present To The
street bare. unloyely walls, with
barred and close curtained windows.
Very often, though, you get glimpse
as you pass the open door oI patio
where the sunlight fiickers on green
leaves and vivid BLOSSOMS. Always
you may count upon such an interior
even If you cannot see 1t.
1t is the custom TO build houses
round a green plot open to the sky.
Sometimes there is loggia on three
sides OF this. a loggia into which all
the rooms open {thefe being no up
stairs) and where the house bold lives
In warm weather, cooled by the splash
and tinkle of a fountain in the center.
Or else the ground floor may be given
up to offices or stabling. and mount
ing a stairway you come to a broad
balcony screened from the sun by
thick trails of Towering creeper,
Most hotels are built more or Jess
on this plan, which almost makes up
for the hardness of their pillows, The
Mer1ean idea of pillow is tina. it
should, by. it's extreme discomfort.
prevent you for a slong as possible
from falling asleep. Otherwise ho-
tells are tolerable.
The food is usually pleasant
enough. Mexican dishes are always
highly seasoned. Sometimes painful
ly hot in the mouth" but a moe,
which is a fowl or turkey served with
a thick. dark brown. slightly sweet
sauce all over 1t, is as good as any
curry; they have attractive modes of
cooking pork. for those who are
hardy enough TO eat it,. in Mexico.
ana tneFe Is Always lfuk ana always
drinkable coffee, and ] was told how
it really ought TO be made"
small quantity of coffee, very,
very strong. should be prepared tof
course. from berries freshly roasted
and ground}, and In each cup little
II this should be poured; the cup
should then be filled with hot water.
The hotels are not cheap. From
$3.50 to SO is the usual charge for a
room. But they are clean as rule.
even those IN small places. and in
towns OF any Importance sanitation
Is now looked after.
Mexican kitchens. being open to
the air like the other rooms, are fresh
and light and appetizing. II speak
of those / have seem Cooking Is
done on a "brasero.H which is a thar
coal stove in the center OF the kitchen
with several glowing nests in 1t. ON
which several pots or pans can sim
mer or frizzle at the same time The
stove is on enc side followed into 81
semicircie: the cook stands inside this
and is able to look after all the OPP
erations at once.
The cook is frequently a Chino"
fChinaman1. Possibly his knowledge
of Spanish is limited to few words,
yet somehow with mods and becks