''; 2 ..if 6 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES .. y.-v T FROM THE LIBRARY OF FRANK J. KLINGBERG * * ' JOHN L. STODDARD'S LECTURES THE RHINE BELGIUM HOLLAND MEXICO Norwood Press J. S. Gushing & Co. Berwick & Smith Norwood, Mass,., U.S.A. Macdonald & Sorts, Bookbinders, Boston , !& JOHN L. STODDARD'S LECTURES ILLUSTRATED AND EMBELLISHED WITH VIEWS OF THE WORLD'S FAMOUS PLACES AND PEOPLE, BEING THE IDENTICAL DISCOURSES DELIVERED DURING THE PAST EIGHTEEN YEARS UNDER THE TITLE OF THE STODDARD LECTURES COMPLETE IN TEN VOLUMES VOL. VII BOSTON BALCH BROTHERS CO. MDCCCXCVIII TOLEDO: W. I. SQUIRE OHIO EDITION, 1000 LIMITED No. COPYRIGHT, 1898 BY JOHN L. STODDARD ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Stack Annex THE RHINE 1 57(^20 THE leading rivers of our globe have played a most important part in its development. They are more than mere currents of descending water. Ideas float along their surface. They have ever been the great boundaries of nations. They are the grand avenues of commerce. Their beds have been held sacred as the dwelling-places of gods. They form natural barriers to ambition, and halting-places for conquest. The destinies of man- kind have, there- fore, been deter- mined by their channels. Their interest increases in proportion to the historic sou- venirs which seem to mingle with their foam and murmur with their waves. In this sense one of the first among the world's great rivers is the noble Rhine. Others can boast of greater breadth and volume, a longer distance traversed to the sea, and even mightier commerce borne upon their waves ; but none, except the Nile, is richer in historic memories, and even that, from its remote antiquity, cannot appeal so closely to our sympathies. THE NOBLE RIVER. THE RHINE The Rhine is the great avenue of central Europe, and on its silver thread, for seven hundred miles, are strung the pearls of love, adventure, romance, tragedy, and comedy, till one may fancy it a necklace of transcendent value, rich, like the " page of knowledge," with the " spoils of time." It is, in fact, its con- stant succession of beautiful and historic objects, each crowned with its appro- priate legend, that gives to this great stream of Germany its matchless charm. Viewed as a river merely, the Hud- son is in some respects superior to the Rhine ; but _ add to the latter * % .>,,.* . *- ' - v . ' :. THE CASTLE-BORDERED RHINE. the legends and the memories of two t h ousand years, and the scales turn. What wonder, therefore, that the Rhine is to the Germans what the Nile was to the Egyp- tians, a source of national pride and delight, a never-ending theme of song and story. Within its depths are treasures of golden memories. Let down the net of fancy at almost any point, and you can bring up gems of greater value to the world than any pearls that divers find. Two thousand years THE RHINE ago its name was as well known beside the Tiber as it is now along the Hudson. Navigable for more than six hundred miles through the very heart of Europe, its dominion has been battled for through- out the centuries. Its banks have echoed to the shouts of war- like Gauls, Teutons, Romans, Franks, and Normans, and on its placid surface have been cast the shadows of the world's great conquerors and chieftains, Caesar, Attila, Charlemagne, Na- poleon, and Von Moltke. But to judge of the power and beauty of the Rhine one should not view it at random, but rather mark its origin and trace its growth along that path which leads it from a moun- tain rivulet to an imposing and majestic stream. To do this, THE RHINE AT OBERWESEL. THE BRIDGE AT MAINZ. 10 THE RHINE we should go at the outset into the heart of Switzerland, and stand before an Alpine glacier, which, like some awful pre- historic monster, creeps forth in menace from a sea of ice, supplied from distant peaks, whose summits pierce the azure of the sky. There is a practical as well as a poetic side to these grand gla- ciers. They are not merely the everlasting dra- pery of the Alps, folding them sum- mer and winter in their robes of ice. They are, also, the great storehouses from which the rivers of Europe are replenished ; for, from the many wounds inflicted on them by the arrows of the sun, their frigid life-blood oozes fast, forming a multitude of little torrents which finally unite to constitute one glittering stream. It is in this way that the Rhine is born. The traveler can behold it at the glacier's terminus, leaving exult- ingly its ice-bound cradle, as though rejoicing in the thought of freedom. The tourist must have little imagination who can stand beside this rivulet, destined to gain, erelong, such vast pro- portions, and not compare it to a human life : both at the start so tiny and helpless, so easily inclined in one way or another; yet fated, later on, perhaps to win the admiration of the world, change, it may be, the history of nations, and ultimately be lost in the two oceans, one of Time, the other of Eternity. AN ALPINE GLACIER. II A few miles farther down its course, we find the youthful river rushing on, ap- parently eager to prove its new- found strength and speed. Ah, river ! I have often thought, you will not soon discover a safer or more lovely spot than this, your mountain- girdled home, which you are in such haste to leave. Care and responsibility will come to you soon enough ; and these your sparkling waves, which can now only glitter in the sun and murmur in their shallow path, will soon bear on their breast the commerce of great cities, and roll in majesty past many THE CRADLE OF THE RHINE. / 12 THE RHINE PFEIFFER'S GORGE. a lovely meadow and em- battled crag. What an amount of life and history hangs on this little crystal thread ! Another interesting point in the development of the young Rhine is where it is joined by its first tributary. The meet- ing-place is in the vicinity of one of the most impres- sive spots in Europe, known as " Pfeiffer's Gorge." Through this tremendous chasm the river Tamina, apparently in frantic haste to meet the Rhine, has worn itself a path. On either side tower dark walls of rock, which are not merely perpendicular, but actually bend toward each other, so that they seem about to fall and fill the river with their mass. On one side, a light wooden bridge clings to the rocks, as if in fear, some forty feet above the stream. At first, I halted at the entrance, afraid to trust myself to such a frail support; but, as I ventured further through the gorge, I quite forgot where I was walking, in admiration of the place. Yet, for a single moment, I was never more terrified in my life than in that dark ravine. When we THE RHINE 13 had entered it, quite unobserved by us, black clouds were roll- ing up their masses in the summer sky. Accordingly, half an hour later, there suddenly came a blinding flash, as though the blade of a colossal sword had been swept downward through the gorge, and then withdrawn with inconceivable rapidity. This was succeeded almost instantly by a terrific crash of thunder, which fairly made our hearts stand still. Moreover, that single peal was but the prelude to a dozen more, whose echoes, harsh and jagged as the rocks themselves, were hurled about, from cliff to cliff, until they seemed the screams and laughter of malignant demons. Soon after being reinforced by this ally, the youthful Rhine ac- quires an experience unlike all others in its history, by a tem- porary sojourn in, and identifica- tion with, Lake Constance. A prize too precious for one nation to defend seems this enchanting inland sea ; for, in its circuit of one hundred miles, five different countries Bavaria, Baden, Austria, Wurtemberg, and LAKE CONSTANCE. Switzerland encircle it like sentinels. I first beheld it one evening, in 1880, when on my way to the Passion Play at Ober-Ammergau, and I shall never cease to think with pleasure of the magic light, which then fell softly on the illumined shore. The lake itself lay like an emerald shield, and, in the mirror of its peaceful flood, a second town, the counterpart of that upon the bank, ap- peared to be inverted in a sea of color; while in the sunset sky so many glorious hues were visible, that a great treas- ure-house of Nature, filled with materials for a million rain- bows, appeared to have been broken open, and its prismatic colors scattered broadcast. THE RHINE Upon a gently sloping hill above Lake Constance is an old- fashioned, modest country-house, which several times within the present century has stood forth prominently on the political background, not alone of France, but of the whole of Europe. It is the Chateau of Arenenberg, for years the home of Jose- phine's daughter, Queen Hortense, and her son Napoleon III. It was in 1817, while Napoleon was still a cap- tive at St. Helena, that Hortense, ex- iled from France by the decision of the allied Powers, came to this quiet resting-place, hop- ing to end her troubled life with a few years of such tranquil hap- piness, as it had not yet been her fortune to enjoy. Here, in her exile, that devoted mother welcomed as guests the famous men, who, during the first empire, had filled the world with their renown; and they, in turn, in this comparatively humble home of the ex-Queen of Hol- land, loved to recall the triumphs of their Emperor, and tell the stories of his wonderful campaigns. This chateau, there- fore, was a school for Louis Napoleon's ambition ; and since it was from this, his mother's residence, that he went forth to become President of the French Republic, and finally the acknowledged sovereign of France, Arenenberg may be regarded as the starting-point of that astonishing political THE CHATEAU OF ARENENBERG. THE RHINE THE BOUDOIR OF HORTEXSE. her presence. Her portrait hung upon desk she used stood in its accustomed the harp her skillful hands had often waked to melody. The musical accom- plishments of Hor- tense were remark- able, and it was she who composed the words and music of that celebrated mel- ody which has become one of the national airs of France : Par- tant pour la Sync. In a pretty chapel near the chateau is a kneeling: marble cycle, in which Napo- leon the Little strove to imitate Napoleon the Great. One summer, sev- eral years ago, I vis- ited this mansion of Napoleonic memories, and was admitted to what had been the boudoir of Queen Hortense. It seemed as if she still must be residing here, for everything recalled the wall ; the writing- place ; and near it was THE CHAPEL OF ARENENBERG. i6 THE RHINE statue, upon the pedestal of which is the simple inscription, "To Queen Hortense, by her son Napoleon III." There is a look of patient resignation on the sculptured face, well suited to the character of her whom it represents ; for her brave and uncomplaining spirit rose above her trials with such heroism as to force admiration of her character even from her enemies. Napoleon frequently exclaimed of her, " Hortense makes me believe in virtue." As a child, she had seen her father die upon the guillotine amid the horrors of the Revolution ; a maiden, she had at the command of her mother sacrificed her own affections to a political marriage which had proved one long agony to endure ; a mother, she had lost the dearly loved child whom Napoleon intended to make his heir, and whose little life had been the only barrier to the divorce of Josephine ; a queen, she had watched the hopes and for- tunes of herself and friends go down in ruin with the empire ; a daughter, she had seen her mother die bro- ken-hearted at Malmaison, and Napoleon wear life in anguish on the barren rock of St. Hel- What wonder, then, that wearied of the past and hopeless of the future she often sought relief in prayer? STATl'E OF HORTENSE. THE RHINE 17 Leaving the chateau, I lingered in its pretty garden. Here, seated in the shade of the historic trees whose branches had so often sheltered the daughter and the grandchild of Josephine, I realized the fact that truth is sometimes stranger than the wild- est fiction. For, when the star of Napoleon had apparently forever sunk behind the sea-girt rock of St. Helena, a youth, whose only fortune was the fact that he bore his uncle's name, sat here and dreamed of an empire that he would one day rule. Through intrigue, chance, and the notorious coup d'etat f THE GARDEN AT ARENENBERG. of 1851, that dream was realized; but the empire, after enduring twenty years, went down in shame and exile ; and now, when all is changed, to this chateau, so haunted with sad memories, the ex- Empress Eugenie, its present owner, still occasionally comes, to wander sadly through its solitudes, throneless, childless, and a widow. The Rhine is cosmopolitan. It is not satisfied to linger in a single country. The narrow boundaries of Switzerland cannot contain its rapidly expanding volume. Hence, leaving soon the land of its nativity, it enters Germany, to which thenceforth its splendor and its fame belong. It is, however, changed. Its sojourn in Lake Constance, which is of enormous depth, has had THE RHINE that influence upon the river which education and experience impress upon a youth. Its character, like its river-bed, seems to have deepened and broadened. It moves more steadily and with less uproar and excitement. It has gained power and vol- ume ; but it will need them both, for it is about to encounter trial and resistance. As if it had received warning of the approaching struggle, the river, at some distance from the town, seems to be making prep- aration for the coming conflict. Its waves grow agitated, and its current swifter. A murmur of defiance rises from its depths. Whatever is to be the trial, we plainly see that the young Rhine will meet it like a hero. At last the crisis comes ; for, at Schaffhausen, Nature, as if to test the strength of her ambitious child, has reared directly in its path a monstrous ledge of rock, three hundred feet in width. It is useless ! With a shout of triumph in its leap for life the Rhine bounds over the cliff, falls eighty-five feet, extricates itself from the seething depths below, shakes from its brow a billion glittering drops, which sparkle in the sun like clouds of diamonds, and sweeps along unharmed and free. It is plain that there has been a conflict. The few remaining rocks that " THE RHINE ABOVE SCHAFFHACSEN. THE RHINE still oppose the river stand like grim veterans who have thus far managed to survive the on- set, while scores of their compan- ions have long since disappeared from view, their huge, dismem- bered bodies buried in the tri- umphant stream. But our sympathy is not with them. It is rather with the freedom-seeking Rhine, which will bear no restraint, and hurls itself against the enemy with a roar of anger and a shout of victory that can be heard for miles. Yet, this is not for every traveler a place of romance ; or even if it be, the terribly prosaic claims of hunger and of thirst in- evitably silence, for a time, his dreams and fan- cies. Thus, in the hotel register at Schaffhausen are these practical lines, composed by one who cer- tainly did not be- lieve in total ab- stinence : 20 THE RHINE " As I stood just now by the Falls of the Rhine, I was suddenly seized with a fancy divine ; And I thought to myself if these Falls of the Rhine Instead of water, were only wine, I should certainly choose them for falls of mine." A few hours after leaving Schaffhausen, the traveler in Rhineland reaches, by a trifling detour, the former paradise of gamblers, and the still charming health resort, Baden-Baden. It were folly- to pass this unno- ticed. I have been sometimes asked, by persons planning a Euro- pean tour, " What would you recom- mend as the best halting-place within the limits of southwestern Germany, if you were pressed for . select but one place on the way to Switzerland?" To such a question I always answer, " Baden-Baden." It is true, to do so is select- ing from a great embarrassment of riches, but I am sure the choice of Baden-Baden will not be regretted. Nevertheless, in judging of a place, how much depends upon the accidents of health and weather! A rainy day, a sleepless night, an inso- ent waiter, or an attempt at extortion, any one or all of these may tinge the fairest place with gloom ; and, even under favor- able circumstances, how many lovely scenes are spoiled for us through some mistake which, if we had been warned of it, might just as well have been avoided! The warning to be THE RHINE THE THEATRE. given in respect to Baden-Baden is this : Do not select for your abode a hotel far from the music, gaiety, and beauty of its famous ,-?- park ; for that is the centre of its festivities, the spot where the pulse of Baden- Baden beats most rapidly. To be remote from this, to hear its music merely at a dis- tance, to see the promenaders only when you walk from your hotel to do so, is quite as undesirable as a poor seat in a theatre, where you discern only a portion of the stage, and lose the language of the actors. But how is one to find a home within this charming neighborhood? This was the question which we asked our- selves on the first morning after our arrival ; as, discon- tented with our rooms, we had approached the park, half tempted to abandon Baden, if we could not secure some situation nearer to this field of mer- riment. At length we saw an attractive building, just across the street from it, Which did not SOme- THE RESTAURANT. THE RHINE how have the air of a hotel, although two gentlemen were taking breakfast in the garden, and a sleek waiter (the inevitable nap- kin on his arm) was standing on the steps. Upon the wall, however, was the inscription, " Maison Messmer." " Could we but find rooms here," whispered a member of the party, "we would remain two months, at least." Approaching the waiter, therefore, he inquired, " Par- don me, is this a hotel ? " "Ja wo hi, mcin Herr" He glanced at us triumphantly, but we discreetly turned away our heads. "Are there any rooms to let at present ? " he continued in a voice which trem- bled from excite- ment. "Dasglanbe icJi ganz wohl. Kommen Sie her- ein, meine Herr- schaften. I will speak to Herr Messmer." A moment more and the pro- prietor appeared. Best and kindest of all landlords, we little thought that morning, now so long ago, of the warm friendship which would soon arise between us, strengthened by every annual visit, and undiminished by the lapse of years. Too modest to proclaim the fact himself, we subsequently learned that he was highly esteemed by old Kaiser William and the Empress, had been the recipient of several presents from them, and was among the guests invited to their golden wedding in Berlin. In fact, it was in this very hotel that both the Kaiser and his wife invariably passed a few weeks every year. Informed of this by the waiter, while Herr Mess- THE HOTEL MESSMER. THE RHINE mer himself had for a moment dis- appeared, we held a hurried consul- tation. Could we, by any possibility, remain in this oc- casional at ode of royalty ? Would not the prices also be "royal " ? They did not prove to be so. Indeed, we soon discovered that, when not occupied by the imperial family, the Maison Messmer was no more expensive than any other hostelry. Accordingly, we hired rooms at once, and stepping out upon our balconies surveyed the scene before us. It was enchanting. On all sides were graceful hills, dark with the splendid foliage of the Black Forest, from which, at frequent IN THE ALLEE AT BADEN. THE PARK, " CONVERSATION HOUSE," AND HOTEL MESSMER. 26 THE RHINE THE MUSIC-STAND. intervals, in strik- ing contrast to their sombre background, emerged, to glitter in the sun, the white walls of some pretty villa. One was the residence of a Rus- sian prince, who, long before the frozen arms of the river Neva release St. Pe- tersburg from their prolonged embrace, forgets here, amid opening flowers and the songs of birds, the chill and gloom of Russia's capital. In the foreground, so near, in fact, that I could toss a coin into it from my balcony, was the Casino Park, lined on one side with an enticing restaurant and the " Conversa- tion House," and on the other with a row of tempt- ing shops. In front of these stood the pretty music - stand, where, three times a day, at early morning, afternoon, and evening, a well- IN THE "CONVERSATION HOUSE." THE RHINE 27 trained orchestra affords enjoyment to attentive listeners. An Oriental sovereign, well versed in pleasures, once decreed that- he should always be awakened by music. How often had I thought of that as one of the most exquisite of luxuries, which I should never know! But here, in Baden-Baden, we experienced it. It is a special feature of the Hotel Messmer, which stamps itself in- delibly upon the mem-* ory. Each morn- ing, about seven o'clock, we would be gradually roused to con- sciousness by the inspiring harmonies of a German choral ; and then, for a full hour, half sleep- ing, half awake, we would enjoy a concert, just far enough removed to make its strains seem echoes from the realm of dreamland, just near enough to let us lose no portion of its melodies. " But, if the weather be rainy," it may be asked, " are you de- prived of music ? " By no means. The visitor, in such a case, may leave his hotel balcony and enter the " Conversation House," to find himself in a superbly decorated hall, where dazzling chandeliers rival sunlight, and waxed floors tempt visitors to dance in rhythm to the music of the orchestra, which has come in from the pavilion. Very different, how- ever, was the scene displayed here thirty years ago. The " Conversation House " was then the famous " gambling hell " of Baden, where green baize tables and the fascinating THE WALDSEE. 28 THE RHINE roulette-wheel lured thousands of the butterflies of wealth and fashion to their ruin, like moths to a flame. But now, since gambling is no longer allowed, Baden-Baden has become vir- tuous by compulsion. Despite its loss, however, the place is still attractive. The beauty of its situation, the healing proper- ties of its springs, its lovely park, and the adjoining forest draw admiring thou- sands to enjoy the scenery, and listen to the charming music which, hour after hour, floats upon the air. The only persons who told me they regretted the prohibition of gaming were the shop-keepers, who, naturally enough, desire the good old times when fortunes, made or lost in a night, were spent with fabulous rapidity. One can hardly imagine how gay and animated is the scene on which the tourist gazes from the windows of the Hotel Messmer, especially at night. The long, brilliant avenue is then filled with promenaders, the chairs on either side are occupied, waiters flit about, dispensing light refreshments, and during the pauses in the music the air is filled with the hum of conversation. Seated at such a time upon the private balcony of your room, you look down on that scene, as on the stage from a pro- scenium box, able to view and listen to it all with perfect THE OLD GAMING-HALL. THE RHINE ease, and, literally, if you choose, attired in dressing-gown and slippers. It must be acknowledged, however, that, since the Franco- Prussian War, the gay and fashionable life of Baden has largely disappeared. The place still remains delightful, but it no longer effervesces like champagne. Parisians do not visit it as formerly, and write sarcastically of the change from French to German cus- toms. One witty writer, for exam- ple, says that now, instead of snowy shoulders, sparkling eyes, and charming cos- tumes, one sees here gouty Ger- mans limping along the prom- enade, supported by their patient f rans, or gathered in the " Conversa- tion House," like cabbages raised under glass ; and that, in- stead of the gay rivalry of spendthrifts, who bought all kinds of trinkets at the shops, the wretched salesmen are once or twice a day aroused from sleep, by some huge-waisted Hol- lander, who bargains with them half an hour for a pair of stock- ings ! All this, of course, is caricature, yet Baden must have had in former times a charm of which we see few traces now. The loveliest summer toilettes were then inaugurated here. It was the accepted ball-room of all Europe, the garden of Paris, the promenade of England. Then, in the balmy summer evenings, these music-haunted paths became the ren- THE RIVER DOS. THE RHINE dezvous of friends who had last met at Nice or on the Paris boulevards, and in these wind- ing avenues Love reigned supreme and held his court unchallenged, and here, if any- where, " at lovers' vows of constancy Jove laughed." Not far from the " Conversa- tion House" is the Drinking Hall, a handsome structure, nearly three hundred feet in length, whose noble portico, THE PROMENADE OF THE DRINKING HALL. THE DRINKING HALL. THE RHINE 33 adorned with frescos representing the legends of the Black Forest, make it a most agreeable promenade for those who come here for the cure. In the rotunda of the edifice rises the celebrated spring of Baden-Baden, the virtues of which have been sung for centuries. As its waters have a tem- perature of about one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit, it is not surprising that such a covered gallery has been provided, where invalids can walk, and wait with patience till the liquid cools. It may perhaps console them to remember that, nearly two thousand years ago, people were doing here precisely the same thing. For when the building was in process of construction, extensive relics of Roman baths were discovered, proving that those old conquerors of the world had learned the efficacy of this spring, and had erected their votive tablets to the gods. Whenever I was seated at my window in the Hotel Messmer, if I looked off beyond the town, I saw, three miles away, a ruin of enormous size, crowning the summit of a wooded mountain. 34 THE RHINE . - I It is known as Das alte Schloss, or the Old Castle, and was the residence of the lords of Baden, who in the Middle Ages ruled this region with a rod of iron. Two hundred years ago the French dismantled it, and then, for half a century at least, it lay neglected in the forest solitude. But now a visit to the Old Castle is the favorite excursion to be made from Baden, and every pleasant afternoon, a score of tourists, who have ap- proached it by long walks or drives completely shaded by gigan- tic trees ma y be seen standing on its ruined walls, gazing with de- light upon the scene below. The entrance to this castle is a narrow portal beyond which one can see a winding passage, resem- bling a street in an old Oriental town. The outer gate was only the first of many similar portals which followed one another, like successive doors in a safe-deposit vault. A hand- ful of determined men could easily, therefore, have resisted here an army of invaders ; for, in addition to the ponderous gates, the wails were pierced with narrow loop-holes, through which the garrison could with safety fire upon the enemy. To- day, how great the transformation ! The massive walls are roofless now, and visitors may enter fearlessly a corridor, which, no doubt, in the period of the castle's glory, frequently echoed to the clang of arms and tramp of horses' feet. Where mailed THE GATEWAY. THE RHINE 35 THE ENTRANCE. watchmen stood guard, a peasant woman keeps a booth of trinkets ; and, on an ancient tower, the trav- eler, wearied by his mountain climb, beholds the touching legend, "Res- taurant." It is ap- propriate that be- neath this word there should, also, be inscribed an arrow ; for swiftly as a feathered barb does every German, at least, glide through the adjoining doorway to order beer, coffee, butter-brod, and sausage, without which no excursion seems to him complete^ -nor even an after- noon endurable. Many war- like deeds are said to have been performed in ancient times in and about the Old Castle, but it is not necessary to go into antiquity for thrilling scenes con- THE BANQUET HALL IN THE OLD CASTLE. 3 6 THE RHINE nected with its history. One day, as we were climbing to the highest portion of the building by some rock-hewn steps, Herr Messmer told us of a tragic incident of which he had been personally cognizant. When gambling prevailed at Baden, almost as many suicides took place in the Black Forest as now occur at Monaco. Among the visitors here, in 1863, were a young Russian officer and the lady of his love. They had eloped from Moscow. Their funds had become exhausted. The money on which the young man counted was re- fused him, save on condition that he left his friend and came back to his family alone. Unwilling to do this, in his despair the officer tempted fortune at the gaming-table. In vain ! In one brief hour he had lost the little money that remained to him. Leaving the brilliant hall, he plunged directly into the Black Forest, and made his way to this castle. It was a glorious night, and moonlight lent enchant- ment to the place ; but its beauty offered him no consolation. Meanwhile, alarmed at his delay, suspecting his design, and acting upon the information given her by a servant, the lady followed breathless in his footsteps. Again and again, in the darkness of the wood, she called his name, but met with no response. At last, when she had dragged her trembling RUINED WALLS. THE RHINE 37 limbs almost to the entrance of the castle, a pis- tol-shot rang out upon the air. Half-frenzied, with recovered strength, she bounded up the ruined battle- ments, to find her lover dead beside the wall. She did not hesitate a moment. Press- ing a farewell kiss upon his lips, still moist and warm, she took the pistol from his hand and in an instant more fell lifeless by his side. It is, of course, for the interest of the people of Baden to make the place as beautiful and inviting as possible. Accordingly, the authorities leave nothing undone to render it attractive. In addition to its magnificent bathing establish- THE BATHING ESTABLISHMENT. 3 g THE RHINE ment, and the Casino Park with its frequent concerts, illu- minations, and select entertainments, the town itself resembles a lovely garden, in which a long avenue called the Lichten- thal Altee forms a delightful promenade, adorned with foun- tains, flowers, and shade trees, among which flows the little river Oos, spanned by a mul- titude of pretty bridges, and bordered by superb hotels and charming villas. An attempt was once made on this promenade to assassinate old Emperor William. One day, when he was walking here, a miserable wretch sprang from behind a tree, aimed a pistol at him and fired. In- stead of hitting him, however, the bullet entered one of the adjoining elms. The tree, in consequence, came very near suffering the fate of the famous willow which over- hung Napoleon's grave at St. Helena, that of being carried away piecemeal by relic hunters. Accordingly, the town authorities encased its trunk in a stout coat of canvas, painted black. But even this did not suffice. The tourists' knives cut through the canvas and attacked the tree. Herr THE RHINE 39 Messmer then suggested the idea of covering the two adjoin- ing trees also with canvas. This plan proved perfectly suc- cessful, for strangers, being at a loss to know which tree was the historic elm, gave up all hope of relics, and retired in confusion. One of the charms of Baden-Baden, which has drawn me thither sum- mer after summer, has been the great variety of forest drives and walks in its vi- cinity. Thus, within a few hundred feet of the Casino Park, you can enter the Black Forest and stroll for miles be- neath impos- ing trees on paths which, for a con- siderable dis- tance from the town, are carefully swept every day by old women. WATERFALL IN THE BLACK FOKEST. 4 o THE RHINE It is necessary to see a German forest to comprehend its beauty. Before I went to Germany I had little idea of what a well-kept forest was; but after spending a few delightful days in the Thuringian and Black Forests, the many German songs and poems which describe them were readily understood and heartily appreciated. The Black Forest, for exam- ple, on the edge of which Baden-Baden is situated, is ninety miles in length and twenty-five in breadth, and tourists can drive through it on finely graded, macad- amized roads, amid thousands of majestic trees, which foresters keep free from under- brush and useless limbs ; while, here and there, a ruined monastery or romantic castle cuts its profile sharply on the sombre background. Moreover, trail- ing in and out, like silver threads among the stately pines, are little streams which fill the air with freshness and the cadence of a song. What wonder, then, that no part of Europe is richer in poetic legends than the Schwarzwald ? Books have been written merely to describe them ; a hundred castle walls preserve them still in fresco, or in tapestry ; and the quaint dwarfs and giants, princesses and fairies, of whom we read with bated breath in childhood, were all of German origin, and usually played their parts for good or ill within the limits of this forest. It is not long ago that the good, simple-minded people IN THE BLACK FOREST. THE RHINE of this region firmly believed that these dark-hued pines were once inhabited by golden-haired sirens, so fair and white that they seemed born of the water-lilies, and that, when the moon- beams turned by their caress the surface of the rivers to a silver pavement, those fair nymphs danced there- on the whole night long, until the first came glimmering in the east, when they would van- ish like a dream. Absurd, of course, these legends seem to-day ; yet who will deny that, in a poetic sense at least, the world is poorer by their loss ? Hidden away from the world, in the cool depths of the Black Forest, within the shade of stately trees and within easy distance of some beautiful cascades, is the once famous monastery of All Saints. That all who lived within its walls were saints, I would not venture to affirm ; but it was certainly a noble building in its prime, five hundred years ago, and held THE RUINS OF ALL SAINTS. THE RHINE HEIDELUERi its place as one of the richest in- stitutions of the kind in Germany. At the very be- ginning of this century, however, its property was confiscated and the site aban- doned. A miser- able fortune then awaited the mon- astery, since it was purchased for a cotton-mill. Apparently the gods protected it from sac- rilege ; for, on the very day when its new owners were to take possession, the lightning's bolt set fire to the massive edi- fice and made of it the ruin which we see. No lover of the beautiful, how- ever, can regret it ; for now, in- stead of a prosaic factory, the tour- ist finds in this delightful spot one of the finest ruins to which luxuriant ivy and romantic legends ever lent their charm. Soon after leaving Baden-' THE CASTLE FROM THE RHINE. THE RHINE 45 Baden, another charming feature of the Rhineland greets the traveler in Heidelberg, partially mirrored in the river Neckar, which here rolls downward like a flood of silver to the Rhine some miles away. The great attraction of the place is, of course, its famous castle, which is certainly one of the grandest strongholds ever designed by medi- seval architects, and has been enthusiastically called the " Alhambra of Germany." All German castles are picturesquely located, but few can equal this ; for the steep mountain side of Heidelberg is covered with a dense forest, from which, more than three hundred feet above the river, the lovely ruin emerges, like a solitary flower out of a mass of dark green leaves. It is only a short walk from the Castle Hotel to this historic edifice, but it will not be easily forgotten ; for the dark woods are threaded with a multitude of winding paths, completely sheltered from the sun, and in the early spring bordered with violets. Sometimes these walks are spanned with ruined arches, adorned with wild flowers, and caressed by the clinging fingers of innumerable vines. Moreover, in these sylvan shades, on every pleasant summer afternoon, the visitor can seat himself in a rustic cafe (the roof of which HEIDELBERG PARK. 4 6 THE RHINE is the green canopy of the trees), and listen to orchestral music, that invariable feature of German out-door life, cheer- ing the pilgrimage of the summer tourist in Rhineland with continuous strains of melody. On entering the courtyard of the castle, we see a great variety of architecture in the buildings that enclose it. Each differs from its neighbor, both in gen- eral design and orna- mentation, for Hei- delberg Castle was not the work of a single architect, or even of one age, but is, rather, a series of palaces built by suc- cessive princes during a period of three hun- dred years. A won- derfully fascinating place is this old courtyard, either at sunset, when its ruined walls, with their elaborate statues and stone-carving, stand out like finely decorated screens against the sky, or, when the moon pours a flood of silver through their ruined arches, giving a glory to their rem- nants of departed splendor, and softening all traces of the conflict which they still survive. In that mysterious light their sculptured kings and warriors seem like living beings, who have assembled to converse of the old times when the grand halls were filled with valiant knights, fair ladies, and sweet-voiced minstrels. No one can fail to be impressed with the former strength of the castle's walls, if he observes an enormous A CORNER IN THE COURTYARD. THE RHINE 49 STATUE-COVERED WALLS. mass of masonry called the " over- thrown tower." Two hundred years ago, the army of Louis XIV. left the town of Heidelberg a smoldering heap of ruins, and the castle itself so far dis- mantled, that the French king ordered a medal to be struck, bearing the inscrip- tion, " Heidelberg is destroyed." But, happily, it was impossible to destroy such a massive struc- ture, and some of its old battlements remain almost as strong as formerly in their enormous thickness of twenty feet. The presence of ivy, in connection with the ruins of the past, is one of the most beautiful and suggestive sights in nature. It is also a peculiarity of the North. Egyptian ruins stand in the burning sunlight, desolate and naked, with all the blows they have received A HISTORIC FACADE. from time and their THE RHINE SCULPTURED KINGS AND WARRIORS. despoilers plainly visible ; but in the lands of mist and snow, ruins are quickly covered with a lovely mantle of protec- tion. How tender- ly the ivy touches the broken out- lines of their stony features, putting its tiny tendrils forth, like an in- fant's fingers creeping over a mother's face ! And when the union of the vine and ruin is completed, how sturdily those rootlets cling to every coign of vantage, and enter every nook and cranny, until by the sheer force of numbers their lilliputian hands screen and ap- parently support the massive walls! Is it not owing to its ivied cloak that many an ancient structure is more beautiful in ruin than when perfect? And who can stand by such an edi- THE RHINE fice, made lovelier by vines which never would have come to it but for misfortune, and not reflect how character is often beautified by adversity, developing in trial a multitude of noble traits which in prosperity would never have been seen ? Something is wanting in a man who has not known misfor- tune. To have really lived one must have suf- fered. In the cellar of the castle is the largest wine- cask in the world, which is no less than twenty-four feet high, and has a capacity of more than a quar- ter of a million bottles of wine. In olden times, when this huge tun had been filled with the produce of the vintage, a dance took place upon the platform that sur- mounts it, and the old castle walls resounded to gay music, songs, and laughter; but ever since 1769 the cask has held no wine, and the days of Heidelberg's festivities are gone forever. There are three modes of traveling on the Rhine. The first and fastest is, of course, the railway ; but this, while good for business purposes, is rarely taken by the tourist. The second is the steamboat, which is both rapid and agreeable. The third and last is the long line of splendid carriage-roads which wind around the bases of the mountains and skirt the borders of the THE GREAT WINE-CASK. THE RHINE A CHOICE OF ROUTES. no time on such a trip really to delightful way to travel through on foot. Of this I was convinced, some years ago, in talking with a gentleman who had made such a tour. I had myself sailed up and down the Rhine a number of times, and thought I knew it tolerably well ; but when we came to speak of some details, I found that, corn- stream. Ninety- nine out of every hundred travel- ers, probably, take the steam- boat journey, and thus glide rapidly in one day past the famous Rhen- ish villages and castles; but this is like going through a picture- gallery on roller- skates. There is observe anything. The most Rhineland is in a carriage, or ALONG THE RHINE. THE RHINE 53 pared with my companion, I knew very little. " How is this ? " I inquired, in some chagrin, when he had asked my impres- sions of a place I had not seen, " how is it possible that you know the entire route so perfectly ? " " It is easily explained," was the reply. "I recently hired a carriage and a pair of horses, and, with my son, drove leisurely along the Rhine for a hundred and fifty miles, having no end of good hotels in which to eat when we were hungry, and sleep when we were weary. Journeying thus, we halted when and where we liked, observed the village life, and visited leisurely the ruins, which, looked on from the steamer at a distance, merely produce a vague impression soon to be forgotten." I contem- plated him with admiration, not unmixed with envy. No one could have called him an extensive traveler. He had not been in Egypt, Spain, or even Italy, but he had done at least one thing in Europe thoroughly, he had seen the Rhine. The usual starting-point for a sail down the Rhine is Mainz, or, as the French prefer to say, Mayence. This, if not beauti- ful, is nevertheless a town of great historical celebrity. It was one of the old Roman strongholds built along the Rhine ; and, A RHENISH CASTLE. 54 THE RHINE shortly before the birth of Christ, the Roman general, Drusus, built across the river at this point a bridge of stone. Since then poor Mainz has been repeatedly the spoil of conquerors, from Attila to Bonaparte. Yet, though its annals have been often stained with blood, its greatest fame comes from a very different source. In its chief public square stands a monument made from the designs of the Danish sculptor, Thorwaldsen, and erected by subscriptions from all parts of Europe. It is the statue of the most illustrious citizen of Mainz, John Gutenberg, who here invented movable types, and whose first printing-office, oc- cupied by him in 1443, is still pre- served. Unfortu- nately, like many of the benefactors of his race, Guten- berg died friendless and in want. Nevertheless, among the heroes of the Rhineland, his name stands out in characters that will forevermore command the admiration of posterity; and although Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, and many lesser war- riors have played their roles in the historic drama of this river, leaving behind them memories which are now inseparable from the stream itself, the man, whose life-work revolutionized the world and helped mankind immeasurably onward in its upward path, was one who neither held a sword nor wore a crown. STATUE OF GUTENBERG AT MAINZ. THE RHINE 57 As the swift steamer bears the tourist down the Rhine from Mainz, a charming feature soon reveals itself in the extensive vineyards glistening in the sun. Sometimes the shores are lined with them for miles. The most renowned and valuable lie upon the slopes of the Johannisberg. This mountain was formerly the property of an Austrian statesman, Metternich. It is well known that, in addition to his love for vineyards -and diplomacy, Met- ternich had a mania for collect- ing autographs, and his relations during thirty years with the sovereigns of Eu- rope (some of whom owed to him their crowns) had naturally given him a fine array of royal signatures. Not content with these, however, he solicited those of persons distinguished in any walk of life. Among others, therefore, he requested the autograph of Jules Janin, a famous wit and journalist of Paris. On receiving the request, Janin immediately seized a pen and wrote : "Paris, 1 5th May, 1838. Received from Prince Metternich, twenty-four bottles of his best Johannisberg wine. (Signed) JULES JANIN." The wit was well appreciated and rewarded, for in a month the journalist received from Metternich the two dozen bottles of 5 8 THE RHINE Johannisberg. It is probable, however, that Metternich kept the signature of the witty Frenchman longer than Janin kept the sparkling wine of Metternich. Oh, the amount of labor that has been expended on the Rhenish hillsides! Without man's ingenuity, no cultivation of the grape on their steep sides would have been possible. But human skill has changed them into hanging gardens, by means of countless terraces which hold the soil that other- wise would be washed down to the river in a dozen rainstorms. We sometimes think the building of stone walls on old New England farms remarkable, but that is nothing to what has been accomplished on the Rhine. Literally, thousands of miles of carefully constructed and cemented walls, from eight to twenty feet in height, have been built along these hillsides, dividing the whole area into little vineyards (perhaps no more than twenty-five feet wide), which in places rise in thirty or forty terraces to the very summit of the mountains. Sometimes THE RHINE 59 the slope is so precipitous that the soil in which the vines are planted has to be kept in baskets to retain it, and much of the soil, and all the dressing it receives, must be carried up the hills upon the shoulders of the laborers. Soon after leaving Mainz, we find ourselves within the region of ruined castles, tenanted only by the genii of the past. From time to time old crumbling walls, or solitary towers, cast their dark silhouettes upon the sky, some bleak and bare, others concealing their de- fects with vines and leaves, like Spanish beggars in their tat- tered mantles. Many of these castles were formerly the abodes of men who lived by levying duties on the com- merce of the river. Like vultures, from their eyries, they watched the boats descend the stream, and if the tribute they demanded was refused them, they promptly attacked the crew, and secured the cargo for themselves. Among the strongest residences of these robber barons, and even now the largest ruin on the river, is the Rheinfels. Its record is remarkable, for it was the greed and cruelty of the master of this fortress which finally drove his victims to resist- ance. A league was formed by several Rhenish cities to do away with this unbearable oppression ; and under that confed- eration, the haughty castles one by one went down. It was a bloody task. This stronghold, in particular, withstood a siege A BIT OF RHINELAND. 6o THE RHINE THE RHEINFELS. of fifteen months and drove back from its battle- ments an army of twenty-four thousand men ; but, finally, its power was de- stroyed. Nature has charitably thrown over these blood-stained walls a robe of verdure like a mantle of obliv- ion, and they are now the peaceful home of birds and flowers, which fill the historic courts with song and fragrance. Best of all, the commerce of the Rhine, to-day, sails fearlessly beneath the gloomy towers which threatened once its ruin. Conspicuous among the castles whose towers fling their shad- ows on the placid bosom of this river is the Rhein- stein. Its origin is lost in obscur- ity, but there is evidence that it has kept watch and ward above the Rhine for at least six hundred THE RHINE 61 years. To-day, it is a summer residence of the German Em- peror, and, in accordance with his wish, is kept as far as possible in the old style. The walls, for example, are hung with ancient armor, the windows are of stained glass, great shaggy skins adorn the inlaid floor, and even the furniture is antique, collected from old castles or mediaeval convents. Another prominent ruin attracting one's attention on this journey is the castle of Ehren- fels. It is in reality no older than the Rhein- stein, but, in its mutilated condi- tion, it seems much more an- cient. On the occasion of my visit, I clambered up a staircase in the tower and looked out through the case- ments near the top. The guardian of the place was a plump German matron of such ample girth, that she did not venture to follow me up the stairs ; fearing perhaps the fate of the watchman's wife, whose home was in the top of one of these narrow towers, and who there grew so stout that she could neither get down the steps, nor out of the window. When, therefore, her husband died his successor was obliged to marry the widow in her prison. Not far away one sees upon a tongue of land a tall square tower, which, although fully as old as that of Ehrenfels, was handsomely restored in 1856. The curious legend which THE INTERIOR OF THE RHEINSTEIN. 62 THE RHINE adheres to it has stamped forever on its walls the title of the "Mouse Tower." For who does not remember the story of Bishop Hatto, who, in a year of famine, locked a multitude of women and children in one of his barns and set it on fire? "There," he ex- claimed, as he saw the flames, " I have burned up a lot of mis- erable rats that were good for nothing but to eat corn." Hardly had' he uttered the words, when YH &- pF ^M a servant 'Jfli WBftm run ; ing to and announced that thousands of EHRENFELS. rats were coming that way. In terror, the bishop hastened to this tower and, barring every hole and window, thought himself secure ; but in vain ! " In at the windows, and in at the door, And through the walls by thousands they pour, And down through the ceiling and up through the floor, From the right and the left, from behind and before, From within and without, from above and below ; And all at once to the bishop they go. " They have whetted their teeth against the stones, And now they pick the bishop's bones ; They gnawed the flesh from every limb ; For they were sent to do judgment on him." THE RHINE At the union of the Rhine and one of its smaller tributaries, lies a town which the lines of a poetess have made more widely k n o w n than almost any other on the river, " Fair Bingen on the Rhine." Doubt- less the lady's sketch was imag- inary, and the village w r hich she thus immortalized was probably chosen at random ; never- theless, it is impossible to look upon it without a pitying thought of the " soldier of the legion," who " lay dying in Algiers " ; and as the boat glides by it in its course, one finds himself repeating some of the familiar lines : " Tell her, the last night of my life (for ere the moon be risen, My body will be out of pain, my soul be out of prison), I dreamed I stood -with her and saw the yellow sunlight shine On the vine-clad hills of Bingen fair Bingen on the Rhine." THE MOUSE TOWER. 6 4 THE RHINE Just opposite Bingen the glasses of all tourists on the steamer are eagerly turned toward the German National Monu- ment, which stands at a height of seven hundred and forty feet above the river, on the brow of a wooded hill known as the Niederwald. It is a colossal bronze statue of Germania, designed to keep alive the fires of patriotism by com- memorating the German victories in the Franco-Prussian War, which laid the foundation of the present empire. Aside from the impressive memories that it awakens, it is an imposing work of art, for the entire monument is more than one hundred feet in height, the majestic figure of Germania, holding a crown and sword adorned with laurel wreaths, being itself thirty- three feet high. Around the pedestal are the portraits of Emperor William and the principal princes and gen- erals of Germany, as- well as fine reliefs portraying scenes in the campaign ; and on the side facing the river, the sculptures represent the "Watch on the Rhine," the words of the noble song being appropriately inscribed beneath. The Rhine, in its capricious windings, gives forth its treas- ures, one after the other, each awakening new delight. Among the pretty villages thus revealed is Bacharach, the most con- spicuous feature of which is a ruin known as St. Werner's THE NATIONAL MONUMENT. THE RHINE BACHARACH. Chapel. The ori- gin of this build- ing was peculiar. Saint Werner, it appears, was a young boy, who, four centuries and a half ago, was murdered by the Jews at Ober- wesel. His body was flung into the river, but, instead of floating down the stream, it came miraculously up the current for some miles, and was finally washed ashore at Bacharach, scaring the murderers into confession. After such an aquatic exploit the young man was declared a saint, and the inhabitants < the town could do no less than build for him the pretty chapel, the ruins of which still grace the borders of the Rhine. The town of Bacharach has, also, an eventful history. Some eighteen hundred years ago a Roman settle- ment WaS CStab- ST. WERNER'S CHAPEL. 66 THE RHINE lished here, and, very early becoming famous for the wine which it produced, it was called Ara Bacchi, of the Altar of Bacchus. Even to-day an altar to the god of wine might well be erected at Bacharach; for, on sipping the golden produce of its vineyards, we seem to taste in every drop a ray of im- prisoned sunshine, and recollect the German proverb which declares : " At Wiirzburg on the Stein, At Hochheim on the Main, And Bacharach on the Rhine, You find the best of wine." Not far from the town, one sees before him, in the middle of the river, a singularly shaped structure, which certainly can lay no claim to beauty. It has a most inhospitable air, since its entrance is six feet above the rock on which the building stands, and even this is reached only by a ladder. More than six hundred years ago, this structure served as a convenient toll-house, which no boats were allowed to pass without paying AN ANCIENT TOLL HOUSE. THE RHINE CASTLE OF SCHONBERG. All the legends of the Rhine Thus, it is claimed that in the once lived seven handsome daugh- ters, who were such incorrigible flirts, and persist- ently broke so many hearts, that Providence finally interfered to avenge the Ro- meos of the Rhine, and changed the sis- ters into seven rocks, which stand here to tribute, and that it was also used as a prison is evident from the fact that dun- geons still exist beneath it, below the level of the river. It was even capable of sus- taining a siege, be- ing supplied with water from a well dug deeper than the bed of the sur- rounding stream. are by no means pathetic. castle of Schonberg there " SENSELESS STONE." 68 THE RHINE this day, a warning to all pretty voyagers of the consequences of such cruel actions. " Of love the}' ever made a jest, For a stony heart was in each breast ; Now, sunk in the Rhine for their sins to atone, They are changed into rock and senseless stone. 1 ' The present generation, however, apparently cares very little for this warning. Providence seems to have changed its method of protecting jilted lovers; else would the shores of Mount Desert and Narragansett Pier be quite impassable for boats. At one point on the river, German students love to perpe- trate a standard joke, at which all travelers have laughed for twenty years, but which still causes merriment. The echo here from either bank is so exceptionally fine, that students often shout the question, " What is the Mayor of Oberwesel ? " The echoed answer comes back from the hills, " Esel" that is to say, "an ass." THE RHINE THE LORELEI. The Rhenish village of St. Goar derives its name from an old saint of the most remarkable character and habits, who flourished here eight hundred years ago. Professionally he was a boatman, and ferried people back and forth across the Rhine ; but not content with this, he sought to convert the heathen of this region to Christianity. His methods, however, were peculiar. One day, for example, as he was rowing a traveler across the Rhine, an idea suddenly came to him like an inspiration. Ceasing to row, he asked his passenger if he were a Christian. The man replied that he was not. Where- upon St. Goar immediately rushed upon him, plunged him over the side, and baptized him, ere the astonished man had time to catch his breath. Then, for fear that such a quick conversion might not last, he left him in the Rhine to drown, so that he might go at once to Paradise. The legend adds that, the same night the soul of the drowned man appeared to St. Goar, and, far from reproving him for his rough treatment, thanked him for thus securing to him the joys of Heaven. Thenceforth THE RHINE THE SIREN'S CLIFF. the valiant saint doubted no more that baptizing was his vocation, and hardly a day passed without an immersion. It is true, the bishop of the town re- proved him for his undue vio- lence, but the saint immediately wrought a miracle by hanging his hat on a sunbeam, and the bishop could not say a word. Nevertheless, this system of compulsory bap- tism lasted only a short time ; for, naturally enough, as soon as his habits became known, each passenger, when in the middle of the stream, would always make the sign of the cross, and swear with chattering teeth that he was a Christian. At a little distance below St. Goar, the finest scenery on the Rhine reveals itself, where the imposing cliffs of the Lorelei rise, dark and threatening, to the height of four hundred and fifty feet. Combined with beauty here, there used to be, in the days of small boats, dependent merely upon oar and sail, an element of danger. For at this point the Rhine is some- times turbulent, and in a distance of one hundred yards the inclination of the river-bed is about five feet. Even now, a sunken ledge still makes a whirlpool, dangerous to small craft, unless skillfully managed. The curious legend of the place is, therefore, easily explained; for, in the evening, when the white foam beat against the rocks, and the pale moonbeams THE RHINE 73 rested phantom-like on the frowning cliffs, the peasants fancied they perceived the golden hair and ivory shoulders of a siren who lured poor mariners to their destruction. But now, at all events, the Lorelei has lost her power. A railroad tunnel perforates the rock, the steamboat's whistle drowns the melody of her voice, and she spreads the meshes of her whirlpool-net in vain. Not far below this siren-haunted cliff, I visited one day two famous ruins, standing side by side, called the Castles of the Brothers. The picture of the Rhine, seen through the crumbling arches, was enchanting, but the old walls were gaunt and bare as skeletons, and their deserted windows called to mind the eyeless sockets of a skull. Their legend is well suited to the place ; for, it is said, two brothers once resided here in perfect harmony, until a fatal shadow crossed their path in the form of a mad, unconquerable passion for the same woman. In such a love, appeals to generosity are useless. Neither brother would yield his claim ; and upon a narrow ledge between the castles they finally met in mortal combat. THE CASTLES OF THE BROTHERS. 74 THE RHINE At the same instant, the sword of his op- ponent pierced each lover's breast, and the two brothers fell in death, a look of hatred, yetof triumph, on each face. The massive walls of Falkenburg com- memorate a famous bandit of the Rhine, named Falkenstein, who on one occasion looked with envious eyes upon the silver bell of a church, and caused it to be brought to him that he might melt it into coin. The bishop, struck with horror at the sacrilege, went to the castle in his priestly robes to demand its return. At this, Falkenstein burst into a roar of laughter, saying : " You wish to have your FALKENBURG. you bell, do Well, you shall have it hence- forth forever." Thereupon the bell was tied about the bishop's neck, and both were thrown into the dungeon-well of the tower, and covered with stones to the THE JUNCTION OF THE RHINE AND MOSEL. THE RHINE 75 depth of six feet. A few days afterward Falkenstein fell ill, and when night came, the doctor and astrologer who watched beside his bed heard with terror the knell of the silver bell coming from the depths of the earth. The awful sound con- tinued until midnight, when, at the last stroke of twelve, Falkenstein expired. Since then, as regularly as the anni- versary of the desperado's death comes round, it is said the bell can be heard ringing under the ruined castle. Not far from this point, we approach the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosel, the water of which is as pleasing to the sight, as is to the taste the sparkling Mosel wine pro- duced along its banks. This river, even after uniting with the Rhine, preserves for a long time its emerald color, as though unwilling to mingle its French waters with the waves of Germany. The city of Coblentz which is situated at the union of these streams has an interesting history. Here, eighteen hundred years ago, the Romans founded a city named appropriately Confluentes ; and hither, after the death EHRENBRE1TSTEIN. THE RHINE of Charlemagne, his grandsons came to divide between them his gigantic empire. In a military point of view Coblentz is of great importance, and hence is thoroughly protected, not only by its own massive walls and a connected series of strong forts, but also by the mighty citadel of Ehrenbreitstein, just across the Rhine. This stone colossus is defended by four hundred cannon, and is said to contain fifty thousand needle-guns, and stores of provisions capable of maintaining an army of eight thousand men for ten years, while it derives its water from deep wells dug within its own enclosure. Its very name, the Broadstone of Honor, is impos- ing ; and, rising as it does in mas- sive majesty four hundred feet above the river, it seems suffi- ciently ^impreg- nable to deserve the appellation sometimes given it of the "Gibraltar of the Rhine." The most beautiful feature of Coblentz is the Rhine Prome- nade, which borders the historic stream for more than two miles. I hardly know a prettier walk in Europe than this river-avenue; for, aside from its charming situation, it is a thing of art and beauty. Far from being a mere prome- nade, as the name might imply, it is a lovely garden, sloping to the Rhine, kept with the utmost care, shaded by noble trees, carpeted with turf, embellished with statues, fountains, THE PROMENADE AT COBLENTZ. 79 and elaborate flower-beds, and frequently enlivened with choice music. This river-park was designed by the Empress Augusta, who was exceedingly fond of Coblentz, and to her memory a statue has been erected here, which seems to be contem- plating with serene satisfaction the scene of beauty called by her into existence. One evening, as I was strolling on this promenade, watch- ing the stars reflected in the river, and reveling in the peace- ful beauty of the place, I suddenly heard in the distance the harmonious voices of some German students singing " The Watch on the Rhine." It was beautifully sung, and I stood spell-bound, listening to the thrilling words which rang out with true manly vigor over the historic stream. I was not, it is true, a German, and hence could not perhaps entirely appreciate the pride and joy therein expressed; but even as a stranger from beyond the sea, I felt the blood stir quickly in my veins, as those rich voices sang beneath the stars: " While yet one drop of life-blood flows, The sword shall never know repose ; While yet one arm the shot can pour, The foe shall never reach thy shore. Rest, Fatherland, for sons of thine Shall steadfast keep the Wacht am Rhein." 8o THE RHINE STOLZENFELS. The castle of Stolzenfels, or Proud Rock, which is set in a frame of foliage, four hundred feet above the river, looks sometimes from the steamer like a castle float- ing in the air. This picturesque chateau is said to have been in existence for a thousand years, and we can well believe that such a site could hardly fail to be improved at the earli- est opportunity. Even in its present restoration, the old foundation walls were used, and its original form was pre- served as far as possible. Like the Rheinstein, the castle of Stol- zenfels is now the property of Em- peror William ; and here his grandmother, the Em press Au- gusta, loved to spend a consid- erable portion of her time. Her choice is easily THE RHINE 81 comprehended ; for what more enchanting home could be desired than this, in which to pass some weeks or months in calm retirement ? The isolation need not be so great as one would at first suppose ; for cities are within easy distance, the railway and the river lie below, while telephone and telegraph wires convey to it, at lightning speed, the news and gossip of the world. Yet, if one wishes it, A ROOM IN STOLZENFELS. here is perfect quiet. A lovely forest offers shaded walks, the air is always fresh and cool, and the magnifi- cent prospect of the Rhine, stretching away for miles to north and south, surpasses the power of language to describe. When traveling in Switzerland, Greece, Italy, or the Rhine- land, I have never failed to have with me for immediate reference a little volume of "Childe Harold"; and it was while looking down upon the Rhine from the terrace of 82 THE RHINE Stolzenfels, one summer afternoon, that I appreciated as never before the lines of Byron : " The river nobly foams and flows, The charm of this enchanted ground, And all its thousand turns disclose Some fresher beauty varying round ; The haughtiest breast its wish might bound Through life to dwell delightful here ; Nor could on earth a spot be found To nature and to me so dear, Could thy dear eyes in following mine Still sweeten more these banks of Rhine." Almost directly opposite this castle is the river Lahn, another tributary of the Rhine, upon whose banks, in a charming little valley, is the town of Ems, a pretty watering place, which enjoys a world-wide repu- tation. Upon the summit of a hill which overlooks the town, the Germans have erected a national monument, sur- mounted by an eagle ; for Ems is closely asso- ciated with the nation's history. Not only was it for years a favorite resort of the old Emperor William, but, in 1870, it became the scene of an important political event. It was here that the famous interview occurred between the German Emperor and the French ambassador Benedetti, STOLZENFELS AND THE RIVER LAHN. THE RHINE in which the Kaiser's manner was construed as an affront to the French nation. It was the one thing wanting to precipitate the impending conflict. France instantly declared the war which was to prove so fatal to her; and thus the spark, ignited here at Ems, soon set all Europe in a blaze, and caused Napoleon III. to be, within six months, a prisoner at Cassel, and the Kaiser a con- queror at Ver- sailles. Many stories of the old Emperor's life at Ems are re- counted, one of which states that on a certain oc- casion he paid a visit to an or- phan asylum in the neighborhood, and, calling one of the little girls, began to question her. "My little frau- lein," he began, taking an orange from his pocket, " can you tell me to what kingdom this belongs ? " " To the vegetable kingdom," she replied. " Very good," said the Kaiser. Then, holding up a gold piece, he inquired, " And to what kingdom does this belong ? " " To the mineral kingdom," she answered promptly. "Well done!" exclaimed the Emperor. "But now," he added, "to what kingdom do I belong ? " The child hesitated. She could not say that her revered Emperor belonged to the animal king- dom. Accordingly she answered timidly : " Your Majesty belongs to the kin neers is em- ployed exclusively in superintend- ^ / ing this Ti- HOLLAND BELOW THE OCEAN LEVEL. tanic struggle ; and although more than fifteen hundred million dollars have been expended in constructing ramparts, two millions are used annually to maintain them. Surely, no Hollander should find it difficult to believe the story of the Deluge, or fail to com- prehend that part of the Mosaic account of the Creation which tells of the dividing of " the waters from the waters." Two hun- dred years ago Holland was described as " A country that draws fifty feet of water, In which men live as in the hold of nature ; And when the sea does in upon them break, And drowns a province, does but spring a leak." 222 HOLLAND To me, however, it resembles rather a beleaguered fortress, before whose gates a tireless foe is constantly at work, now undermining secretly its massive dikes, now charging furiously on the rescued soil, as if determined to reclaim its own. The HOLLAND S TIRELESS ALLY. HOLLAND 223 danger can be best appreciated by standing behind one of Holland's ocean bulwarks at high tide, and hearing the breakers dash against the other side of the wall, sixteen or eighteen feet above the level of the land. For, although calm and beautiful at times, the North Sea can be treacherous and cruel. Again and again it has forced an entrance here, and by a sudden onset of its waves has laid waste prosperous towns and peace- ful villages and swept to destruction thousands of inhabitants. In the fearful inundation, of 1570, nearly all the dikes were destroyed, ships were carried into the inte- rior of the coun- try, and one hundred thou- sand people are said to have perished. Yet the indomitable Dutch have al- ways rallied, undismayed, to expel the foe, and have invariably succeeded. Recently, they have even assumed the offensive, and compelled the ocean to retire from land which it had occupied for centuries. Hundreds of square miles of territory have, in the last few years, been wrested from the sea solely by means of windmills ; and the fields, thus rescued and walled in with massive dikes, are spotted now with herds of cattle ruminating peacefully where, but a little while ago, the sea rolled fathoms deep. Truly, a ROTTEKDAM HARBOR. 224 HOLLAND country that can thus repel an enemy of such tremendous power ; and has, moreover, called the winds of heaven to assist her in the conflict, is a magnificent proof of man's superiority over nature ; and, as I trod the battle-ground of these contend- ing forces, I realized, as never before, the truth of the familiar proverb : " God made the sea, but the Dutch have made the shore." MEXICO THE oldest gateways of our great republic face the rising sun. Through these our ancestors entered the New World. Up to their portals for two hundred years has swept a ceaseless flood of immigration from an older shore. Through them, to-day, there ebbs and flows a mighty tide of tourists, who every spring go forth to wander in historic Europe, and every fall return through the same gateways to their homes. Within the last few years, however, a portion of this stream of travel has sought other channels, and through the doorways of our western coast, facing the mightiest ocean on our globe, increas- in g t h ou- sands annual- ly make their way to Alaska or Japan. OUR PRIVATE CAR. 228 MEXICO AN ADOBE HOUSE. But tran^ sit through the ports of the Atlantic or Pacific im- plies an ocean voyage, which is to many a serious draw- back. There still remains, however, on our southern boundary, a door which has not this objection ; for there, divided from us by no ocean barrier, but only by a narrow river called the Rio Grande, lies outstretched beneath the Southern Cross, and not unlike a mighty cornucopia in form, a land of which we know as yet far less than we have learned of Europe, and hardly more than we now know of China and Japan ; a country of mysterious origin and vast antiquity ; of noble scenery and impressive history ; of picturesque costumes, and a life half Spanish and half Oriental ; the dwelling- place of Az- tecs and of Spaniards ; the battle- ground of m A DESERT VIEW. MEXICO 229 Montezuma and of Cortez ; the realm of sunshine and of silver, Mexico. It was exactly midnight when we glided through the south- ern gateway known as " Eagle Pass," and our long line of cars crept out in Indian file upon the bridge that spans the Rio Grande. Below me I could see a silver streak, sharply defined between two parallel lines, which I well knew to be the opposite shores of the United States and Mexico. No matter how ex- tensively one may have traveled, he feels instinctively a thrill of emotion on entering an unknown land. In go- ing to Eu- rope, this feeling comec upon one gradually. The ocean voyage is a preparation for an advent on a foreign shore. Enter- ing Mexico, however, the change is almost instantaneous, and I shall long recall the sensation I experienced, when, poised above the Rio Grande, I saw at the same instant, in the gloom of night, on one side the dim outline of my native land, and on the other the sombre profile of the Mexican republic. The next morning I awoke to find myself in a foreign country. I saw that we were rolling through a perfectly flat plain, flanked on the east and west by mountain ranges. Apparently this area was once the bed of a gigantic lake, AN OX-TEAM. 230 MEXICO perhaps a portion of the Gulf of Mexico. To-day it is almost as sterile as a desert. Mile after mile, and hour after hour, we looked upon a desolate expanse of sand, arid and blistered by a burning sun. For nine months it had received no rain. Its only vegetation was a stunted growth of prickly pear and cactus plants, occasionally varied by "Spanish bayonet" trees, which look like porcupines on poles. While traveling through this dreary waste we saw, for hours at a time, no signs of life save an occa- sional buz- zard circling in the air, in search of some poor creature stricken by the sun. In certain locali- ties, however, goats are as numerous as on the heights above New York. Their diet is not CACTUS. confined to such dyspeptic articles as sardine boxes and tomato cans ; but each to his taste! To Mexican goats the Spanish bayonet spikes are doubtless just as sweet as New York clothes-pins, and prickly cactus leaves replace for them the worn-out hair brushes of Harlem. Looking upon such cheerless scenery, the traveler at first exclaims, "This is an uninviting route by which to enter Mexico " ; and, it must be confessed, the first appearance of the country is exceedingly unattractive. To ride four hun- MEXICO 233 CROSSING THE DESERT. dred miles through alkali plains, the dust of which sifts through the windows of the car and lies in spoon- fuls on his clothing, is a grim penalty that every tourist who goes to Mex- ico must pay. But, after all, he has to endure it only twenty-four hours; and what is that compared to the tribute which old Neptune frequently exacts from travelers crossing the Atlantic ? The mountains which enclose this wilderness relieve the landscape from complete monotony. Their strange forms offer infinite variety. Without a single break, they line the desert all day long ; at times advancing, then retreating, precisely like the rugged shores of an extensive lake. When close at hand, their sunburnt peaks look savage and forbidding; but, at a dis- tance, a soft, mellow haze conceals their -- DESERT (NEAR LAEREON). 234 MEXICO harsher features, and renders them as delicate in coloring as an aquarelle. We could not understand, at first, why railway stations should have been built upon this Mexican desert. The depot was often the only building visible, surrounded by half a dozen scrawny palms, resembling worn-out feather dusters, and domi- nated by a telegraph pole, cutting its form like a gigantic gibbet against the sky ; but, several miles distant from these stations, there is usually a large plantation, or a little town, be- tween which and the railroad regular communication is main- tained by means of tram-cars or a stage-coach. One of those stage-coaches I shall never forget. I looked at it as I might have gazed upon an instrument of torture used by the In- quisition. It seemed more perfectly adapted to inflict excru- ciating misery upon its occupants than any vehicle I had ever seen, even in the remotest districts of old Spain. Could it be possible that after five or six decades of active service :'n the Mother Country, this coach had been sent out to Mexico ? Its springs had originally been of leather, but were now of rope. The doors had, apparently, passed through several desperate MEXICO 235 THE STAGE-COACH. conflicts with banditti. The windows had been long since broken out. The white dust lay so thick upon the seats that I at first supposed them to be covered with gray cloth, until I felt my fingers sink into the powdery mass to reach at last a species of bed-rock, which at some unknown period of the past had been a leather cushion. Yet this was the regular coach between the station and a village forty miles away. Five reckless passengers were about to risk their lives in its interior. The fare was three dol- lars. I asked if this included the services of an undertaker on arriving at their destination, but could not get a satisfactory reply. After long years of traveling in such vehicles as this, it is not strange that the Mex- icans regard- ed tram-cars, drawn by mules along smooth rails, a priceless luxury, and made no seri- ous objection when the rail- roads only came within a few miles of their towns. 236 MEXICO A MEXICAN PRIVATE CARRIAGE. Indeed, tramways in Mexico some- times connect the railroad with cities thirty or forty miles distant, the longest line between Vera Cruz and Jalapa covering a dis- tance of seventy- six miles. Until comparatively re- cent times, with the exception of the highway built from the coast by Cortez, communication here was chiefly made on horseback. The difficulties of stage-coach traveling were sometimes almost insurmountable. A Mexican gentleman told me that, twenty years ago, a trip from Guada- lajara to the capital re- quired (when the roads were good) about six days. " And how long when the roads were bad?" I asked. "Six months," was the reply. Near one of the stations PEONS AT STATION. MEXICO 237 we A MEXICAN HORSEMAN. beheld a group of Mexican horsemen, each thoroughly armed, and wearing on his head a dark sombrero. These cavaliers were once high- waymen, who held up the stages, robbed the passen- gers, and rendered travel- ing here romantic. But President Diaz reformed them. On coming into power, he sent for their leaders and inquired : " My friends, how much does highway robbery pay you on an average every year ? " They named a certain sum. " Well," continued the President, " would you not prefer to earn that money honestly and feel that you will die like Chris- tians ? " Most of them thought they would, and the interview closed with a promise of a salary of forty dollars a month ; in return for which the men agreed to furnish arms and horses, and (as the "Mexican Ru- ral Guards") to keep the country free from bandits. With such pro- tectors who can feel unsafe in Mexico ? PRIMITIVE LOCOMOTION. 238 MEXICO The next morning, we found that we had left the desert and its heat behind and below us. All through the night our engine had been toiling upward, till we had reached the Mexican table-land. Three-fourths of Mexico is a pla- teau, from six thousand to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. Were it not lifted thus to a plane far higher than the summit of Mount Washington, the climate of Mexico would be that of Nubia ; but, once transported to that height, the traveler finds a temperature de- lightful through- out the entire year. Unaware of this fact, I had supposed a trip to Mexico, in any season except winter, would be uncomfortable; but, on the con- trary, in some re- spects the pleas- antest time to MEXICO 241 visit Aztec land is summer. May is usually the hottest season of the year, yet though I spent a portion of that month in the City of Mexico I \vore a light overcoat every evening. The remaining fourth of Mexico, which is not table-land, is easily described. Whether the tourist journeys east or west from the centre of the country, he will soon find himself upon the edge of the plateau, almost as if he were standing on the brink of a precipice. From this the land descends abruptly, on one side toward the Gulf of Mexico, and on the other toward the Pacific and the Gulf of Cali- fornia. There are, however, certain intervening ter- races, breaking the steep de- scent, which are called temperate regions, because the elevation of three thousand feet above the sea gives them a mod- erate and delight- ful climate. Below these are the Tierras Calientes, or Hot Lands, of the coast. What an amazing country then, is this, which has three zones: the tropical, the temperate, and the cold, ranged not from south to north, as elsewhere in the north- ern hemisphere, but upward, from the ocean level toward the sky! Moreover, on the grand plateau, some of the loftiest mountains of our planet tower still further heavenward, wearing eternally their coronets of snow. In twenty-four hours, there- fore, if he will, the traveler in Mexico may pass through almost IN THE LOWLANDS. 242 MEXICO every grade of climate known upon the globe, from torrid heat to glacial cold. During the day, and frequently half the night, when we were side-tracked in one place, men, women, and children gathered about our car like sea-gulls round an ocean steamer, eagerly seizing ail the refuse thrown out by our cook, and eating it with evident delight. There was, however, nothing bold or GKOl'P BY THE RAILROAD. disagreeable in their sad persistency. It was the desperate appeal of hopeless poverty ; and it was with pity, not dis- gust, that I beheld these natives. The finest painting that I saw in Mexico portrays an Aztec woman, in the time of Cortez, kneeling beside the body of her murdered husband, and appealing to a priest to save her from the fury of the conquering Spaniards. The scene, alas ! is true to history. The Spaniards are responsible for what the Mexi- can Indians are to-day. The Aztec race was in many ways MEXICO 243 POLICE AND PRISONERS. remarkably accomplished and intelli- gent. Their Spanish con- querors, how- ever, mad with lust for gold, slaugh- tered them by thousands, and made the survivors, vir- tually, slaves. The Indians of to-day are, t h er ef ore, timid and retiring in manner, with a sad expression, as though they realized that they are now a crushed and conquered race. Are they susceptible of improvement ? Undoubtedly. President Juarez the ablest man whom Mexico has ever produced, the conqueror of Maximilian, and the architect of the republic was a full-blooded Indian, a noble specimen of the old Aztec race. I was surprised to learn how large a proportion of the present Mexican popu- lation is composed of descendants of the Aztecs. At least two-thirds of the inhabi- tants of Mexico are Indians, most of them poor, ignorant, and ragged. Even in the capital the proportion is about the same. I doubt not that a brilliant future is await- ing Mexico, thanks to the excellent gov- ernment of President Diaz, the introduc- YOUNG MEXICO 244 MEXICO A MEXICAN WATER-CART. tion of railroads, and the development of her magnificent min- eral and agricultural enterprises ; but there can be no question that she has before her an Herculean task in educating seven million ignorant Indians, and elevating them to decent life and the responsibilities of citizenship. Our first real halting-place in Mexico was Zacatecas, one of the loftiest situations on the table-land, and we saw without regret the train move on and leave our special car upon a side-track till the following day. The view of Zacatecas from the railroad is im- pressive. Directly opposite the sta- tion rises a rugged mountain, wear- ing, as a unique and ever to be remembered or- nament, a curving ZACATECAS. MEXICO 245 crown of perpendicular rocks, whose moss-like vegetation makes them look like malachite. Below this I beheld what seemed to be an Oriental city, since almost all the buildings had flat roofs, with walls of unbaked bricks, just as one sees them in the Holy Land. * The most remarkable feature of Zacatecas is its \ vivid coloring. Its varied hues are charming, and STREET VIEW, ZACATECAS. here an artist would be transported with delight. All the plastered walls are painted, and every street is, therefore, framed in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or violet, adorned with gaily decorated signs. Many of the buildings, it is true, are dirty arrd dilapidated, and most of them have but one story. To scrutinize them closely is disenchanting; but, in the brilliant sunshine of the tropics and under the intense blue sky of Mexico, even squalid struc- tures become picturesque. When I glanced down the streets, I usually saw a multitude of motionless or moving figures, their garments of white cotton half concealed by yellow, red, and MEXICO PLAZA FOUNTAIN, ZACATECAS. purple blankets ; and as I watched the multicolored groups, meeting and separating, or coming and going before the brightly tinted walls, I felt as if I were looking into a kaleido- scope. But, while the natives are attractive at a distance, a closer scrutiny reveals the fact that, " Tis distance lends en- chantment " to the Mexican. The peaked hat of straw or felt becomes, on near approach, a thing to be studied under a mi- croscope ; the bronzed face, looking in the distance so effective, is painfully innocent of soap and water ; and it would be ad- visable to treat the brightly colored blanket as the Priest and Levite did the traveler on the way to Jericho, when they " passed by on the other side." As for the natives' shirts and trousers, they call to mind the sails of an old ship, snow-white, when seen upon the verge of the horizon, but proving upon MEXICO 249 closer inspection to be a gray and melancholy waste of soiled canvas, seamed with patches. It is not, I am sure, an exag- geration to say that one-half of the inhabitants of Mexico are either barefooted or wear a kind of sandal, consisting of a piece of leather strapped to the foot like a skate. We saw a number of water-venders in Zacatecas, whose little tanks (strapped on their shoulders after the fashion of Italian organ-grinders), contained the drinking water which they were carrying to the houses ; for water here is precious, and has been sold sometimes as high as two cents a gallon. If drinking water be thus scarce, it is painful to reflect on the bathing conveniences in this Mexican city. So far as my ob- servation went, however, the lack of water for that purpose occasioned its inhabitants no uneasiness, apparently to WATER-VENDERS. 250 none of the natives was a bath either a reminiscence or an aspiration. On one occasion we left our comfortable Pullman car to test the comforts of a genuine Mexican hotel. The halting-place selected for this doubtful experiment was Silao. It was mid- night when we reached it. Leaving the train, a few steps brought us to a dimly lighted building, called " The Grand Hotel." A gray-haired man in neglige attire surveyed us, silently, as we approached. " Bnenas Tardes, Senor," we exclaimed, " have you re- ceived our telegram asking for five rooms ? " " I have," was the reply, " and they are ready. When do you wish to go to them ? " "As soon as possible, Senor." "Will you have a blanket ? " asked the gray-haired man. I looked at him in some alarm, and ventured, "Yes." "And sheets?" "Why, yes." " And a pillow- case ? " " Ye es." " Do your com- panions also want such luxuries ? " I gazed at my companions. They were speechless with astonishment. Taking their silence for consent, the gray-haired man deliberately opened the door, not of the hotel-safe, but of a wardrobe. From this he took five scarlet blankets, ten sheets, five pillow- cases, and as many towels. Then calling a half-naked Indian, HOTEL AT KILAO. MEXICO 251 THE STAIRCASE. he piled this bed- ding on his back, as if he were a donkey, and bade him lead us to our rooms. After one look at the Indian, we much preferred to carry our own bed- clothes ; but, be- ing too tired to attempt it, we followed him up the staircase. This was no easy undertaking, for the hotel corridors were in total darkness, and as our Indian was of the color of a burnt ginger-snap, he shed no radiance through the gloom. Providentially, however, though he was lost to us by the sense of sight, another of our senses permitted no doubt of his locality. We presently found him light- ing five candles for as many rooms. There was no choice in these apartments. Each had two iron beds, a lilliputian wash- stand, two chairs, and a scanty piece THE BED-ROOM. 252 MEXICO of matting stuck like a postage-stamp upon a floor of stone. There were no windows, and doors in the form of blinds gave to these rooms their only light and air. The night that followed marked the greatest triumph of insomnia that my life has ever known. In the first place, my pillow was as flat and hard as an adobe brick ; and, secondly, some choice Silao fleas had left the Indian bedclothes-bearer for a change of diet. Then, too, to make my misery complete, close by the Grand Hotel, a chorus of roosters was rehearsing in distracting unison. Aroused by these, a score of dogs kept barking till they gasped for breath ; while, ever and anon, a melancholy donkey, worn with toil, would burst into a fit of asinine hysterics, and shared apparently my mournful vigil till the dawn. Leaving Silao the next morning, a short and pleasant jour- ney brought us to Guanajuato, a curious old city, famous for three hundred years. With its flat-roofed adobe houses, it is, like Zacatecas, Oriental in appearance, and is surrounded by a A STREET, GUANAJUATO. MEXICO 253 A STREET AND CART. range of moun- tains which look as lifeless as the moon, and as de- void of value as a beggar's hand. But, in reality, these mountains are veritable treasure-houses. Their tawny frames are inter- laced with count- less veins of sil- ver, whose life- blood stirs the pulse of the finan- cial world. The mines of Guanajuato are ranked among the richest on our planet, and they have given to the world a very large amount of its existing stock of silver. The visitor does not, however, see much evidence of wealth in Guanajuato's streets. Most of the buildings are as plain as though the neighboring hills were merely heaps of sand, the pavements are hardly more comfortable to walk on than the beds of dried-up moun- tain brooks, and COURTYARD OF A MEXICAN HOUSE. 254 MEXICO STREET IN GUANAJUATO. the poor na- tives seem in want not only of silver, but of clothing. Yet, Guana- juato is a pic- turesque old town. Built on two sides of a ravine, its houses hang upon the cliffs, as if they had been blown into the air by some reck- less blast, and had alighted by good fortune on convenient ledges. A hasty traveler would probably consider Guanajuato very unattractive as a place of residence, and might suppose its only inhabitants were poverty-stricken Indians ; but a Mexican gentleman assured me that he would rather live here than any- where else in Mex- ico, except the capital. " Why so ? " I asked. " Because," was the reply, "the society of the town is delight- ful. Nowhere have I more charming friends than in Guana- juato." WASHING TAILINGS. MEXICO 255 We visited here one of the establishments where silver is extracted from the ore. Its high walls gave it the appearance of a feudal castle. Close by were some Indians, mining on their own account ; for, even in the refuse of the mill, sufficient silver can be found to repay a native for his toil. Formerly no attention was bestowed upon such clay, and bricks were made from it for building purposes. To-day, however, it is known that there may be more silver in a single house wall than the entire struc- ture is worth as a residence. Entering the mill, we found ourselves in a long, - poorly lighted hall, filled with ap- pliances ap- parently left over from the sixteenth cen- tury. Each side was lined with shallow bowls half-filled with water. In these a certain amount of ore is placed, together with copper and sulphate of iron ; and through the semi-liquid mass large stones are dragged for hours, by wretched mules, until the ore becomes a pasty mixture looking like black mud. This is then taken to an open courtyard where quicksilver and other ingredi- ents are added. To mix these elements thoroughly, mules are made to tramp through it, back and forth, for about thirty days, until the filthy mass is ready to be washed, strained, and THE MILL 256 MEXICO COURT OF THE MILL. smelted. Ex- perts declare that twenty per cent, of the precious metal is wast- ed by these primitive pro- cesses, and that with proper ma- chinery the work could be far better done in a hundredth part of the time. But, even with present appliances, the profits are so large that there is little incentive for improvement. Before I left the place, I had the curiosity to examine one of the mules, which had for months been tramping through the mixture. It was a pitiable sight. Its color was a ghastly green, its eyes were nearly closed, exposure to the mineral mass had burned the hair and some of the flesh from feet and legs, and thor- oughly poisoned its whole system. I do not know of any animals in the world more worthy of pity than the mules of Guanajuato. Om- nibus horses lead a life of luxury THE SICK ML'LE. MEXICO 257 and ease compared with them. Not only do these mules have to drag, blindfolded, for many years their heavy burdens in the treadmills ; but, finally, when old and helpless they come into this courtyard to be killed gradually by the mineral poison, which causes them to assume meantime the varied hues of the chameleon. The Citadel of Guanajuato (now used as a prison) has played a prominent part in Mexican history. Dur- ing Mexico's war for inde- pendence, in 1810, by which she sought to free herself from Spanish tyranny, Gua- najuato was the heart of the re- bellion and the scene of its most desperate struggles. Here the brave patriot-priest Hidalgo (in some respects the Washington of Mexico), having raised the standard of revolt against the Mother Country, gave battle to the Spanish army and defeated it. It is true, this victory was soon avenged, and eleven years rolled by before Hidalgo's dream of Mexican freedom could come" to pass ; but finally it was realized, notwithstanding the heroic patriot had meantime perished in the strife, and though upon a corner of this citadel his head had been displayed as a ghastly trophy, in the vain hope of striking his compatriots with fear. While walking through the streets of Guanajuato, I saw THE CITADEL. 2 5 8 MEXICO an Indian going from house to house, and offering for sale a coffin ! We sometimes think that the Mexicans have no enterprise ; but, really, for an undertaker to send out drum- mers to solicit trade was a little beyond anything I had ever met before. This incident had a remarkable effect upon our guide. "That reminds me," he cried, "we must now ascend the hill to the cemetery." "Climb to a graveyard?" exclaimed one member of our party scornfully, " not I, it is too hard work." "My friend," replied the guide, "fear nothing. You shall be wafted there, as if upon a cloud. We are to ride on burros." He vanished, and a few minutes later the promised donkeys came in sight. They had a melancholy look, as if repeated visits to the graveyard depressed their spirits. All of them had rough, unkempt hair, and on their backs had been placed bags of corn-husks, as substitutes for sad- dles. One donkey was distinguished from the rest by having a piece of rope for a bridle, but the others were supposed to be guided merely by the rider's kicks. So huge, however, were the corn-husk saddles that when we mounted them our limbs looked like the blades of a tailor's shears stretched to their full extent, and not a heel could possibly approach the body of the beast THE COFFIN-PEDDLER. MEXICO 259 DONKEY RIDING. below. Thus seated, like dis- tended j umping- jacks, we rode with shouts of laughter up the hill, and reached at last a hollow square entirely open to the sky. The walls sur- rounding it, which have a thickness of eight feet, were honeycombed with pigeonholes like letter-boxes in a post-office. In these receptacles the dead of Guanajuato are left, as books are placed on shelves, one tier above another, and when a space is filled with a coffin, the opening is closed with a marble slab that serves not only for a door, but also for a tombstone. Some of these pigeonholes are bought outright for a hundred dollars, but the greater number are merely rented for five years. When the time expires, the bones - THE CbMETEKY. 26o MEXICO AN OLD GRAVE-DIGGER. are taken out, and the space is swept and garnished for the next comer, like a berth in a sleeping-car. "What becomes of the evicted tenants ? " I inquired. " Look there and see," was the reply. I turned, and saw two well-nigh naked grave-diggers tossing up skulls and bones from a trench in the enclosure. "At first," explained the guide, " the bodies taken from the walls are buried here ; but even this is only for a little time. Five acres do not constitute a cemetery large enough for Guanajuato ; hence, the first occupants must soon resign their places to others." "What is then their des- tination ? " I asked. "They go down to the cata- combs," he answered ; "would you like to see them ? " WAITING FOR AN ENGAGEMENT. MEXICO 261 I hesitated. " I will go down," exclaimed the photographer, "I wish to see if there is light enough there for making illustrations." Accordingly he disappeared. A moment later, we heard a cry of horror, and soon beheld his face emerge from the ground, white as a sheet, and with distended eyes. " Look here," he said, " I don't want to stay down there alone. You must all keep me company." "What is it ? " we demanded. "It is in- describable," murmured the artist, " go down and see." Thus urged, we made our way down twenty steps and entered a long cor- ridor. There was a general exclamation of astonishment. Before us was a crypt about twenty feet in height and one thousand feet in length. For centuries it has served as the receptacle of bones discarded from the court above, till almost the" entire space is now filled to the roof with skulls, legs, arms, ribs, hip-joints, and shoulder-blades heaped up from floor to ceiling, like corn-cobs in a granary. Moreover, in the immediate foreground, thirty or forty mummies have been placed upright against the wall, and look like ghastly sentinels guarding the chaotic mass of their companions. 262 MEXICO The most useful plant in Mexico is the Maguey. "It is a cactus," I exclaimed, when I first beheld it. " It does belong to the cactus family," was the reply, "and closely resembles what you call the Century Plant. In Mexico, however, it is not allowed to bloom; but, on the con- trary, at flowering time the Mexicans cut into its nucleus or heart. The cavity thus formed is filled at once with a rich, liquid sap, which is a source of enormous profit to the owner. At this stage of the plant'5.. development a native comes to it several times a day to do the milking." "What do you mean by ' milking ' a plant ? " I asked in some amusement. " I refer to the extrac- tion of its sap," was the reply, " and if you watch yonder native, you will see how it is done." I turned, and saw an Indian thrust the point of a hollow tube into the cavity of the plant, and suck the other end with all his might. His power? of persua- sion in that line were certainly remarkable, for the sap, yielding to the suction, immediately filled the tube which the Indian quickly emptied into a pig-skin carried on his back. " This does not seem to me very appetizing," I said, "but it is interesting. What next is done with it ? " MILKING THE MAGUEY. MEXICO 265 "Look over there upon the road," he rejoined; "that cart, the mules of which are raising such a dust, is loaded with pig-skins full of sap. They are to be taken to the farm, and emptied into vats, in which the liquid will ferment for twenty- four hours, till it becomes pnlqne (a magic word in the re- public), when it is sent away to be immediately sold." " Why ' immediately '?" I inquired, "can it not be bottled up and kept like lager beer ? " " Impossible," said my companion. " It will not remain sweet more than forty- eight hours. Moreover, the least adverse ingredient will ruin it. An overseer, who had been dis- charged by his employer, once revenged himself by throwing a few drops of acid into his master's vat of pulque, thus spoiling what was worth a thousand dollars." We climbed a little elevation and gazed upon the farm. It was a pretty sight. For many miles the fields looked like gi- gantic carpets of a terra-cotta groundwork, with the huge plants as decorative figures on their surfaces. " How much time does ,the maguey require to ripen suffi- ciently to give forth sap ? " I asked. "About seven years," was the response. Even on reaching maturity, it furnishes the precious liquid for only about six weeks, and then dies ; but, since another is immediately planted in its place, there is a constant series of arrivals and departures CARTING PULQUE TO MARKET. 266 MEXICO of maguey plants on these farms, like successive classes gradu- ating from, and entering, a public school. The owner of a pulque farm is usually wealthy ; for the maguey crop can be counted on with absolute certain- ty. No insects spoil it, no weather affects it, and it can be made to yield the whole year round. Best of all, the liquid is at once disposed of at a good price and for ready cash. I gained some conception of the extent of the business, when I was told that from this district a long train, loaded with nothing but pulque, goes to the City of Mexico every morning throughout the entire year ; and that for running this train alone the Vera Cruz railroad is paid thirty thousand dollars a month, or a thousand dollars a day. One man in the City of Mexico owns sixty shops, and sells twelve hundred dollars' worth of pulque daily. He is sup- posed to make a profit of sixty HUGE PLANTS. MEXICO 267 thousand dollars a year. A Mexican gentleman told me that his father owned a plantation of about ninety thousand maguey plants, one-tenth of which reach maturity every year. From this " small " plantation he receives an income of ten thousand dollars annually. " Why does not every one go into the pulque business ? " I asked. " More would undoubtedly do so," was the answer, " but (fortunately, or unfortunately), the district where good pulque can be produced is limited to a small area, and hence the farmers in that region have a mo- nopoly." Personally, there are few things of which I am so certain as the fact that I would infi- nitely rather be a producer of pulque than a con- SELLING PULQUE AT THE RAILWAY STATION". s u m e r . I never shall forget the first glass of it that I tasted. An Indian Hebe offered it to me at a railway station, and I paid only a cent for it ; but after one swallow, I considered a penny an exorbitant sum for what I had obtained. In color, consistency, odor, and taste Mexican pulque seemed to me like sour mucilage. People assured me that I would like it after a time. If so, it will be when " my time has come." Some travelers, however, find its taste agreeable, and the Mexicans are as fond of it as negroes are of watermelons. 268 MEXICO On awakening, next morning, I found that we were side- tracked near an aqueduct of grand proportions. I rubbed my eyes. " Where are we ? " I exclaimed, " in Rome ? " " No," was the answer, " but near one of the most interest- ing cities of the Mexican republic, Oueretaro, which has a population of fifty thousand, and is situated as high above the sea as the summit of Mount Washington." "And this aqueduct?" I demanded. " It is the work of the Spaniards," was the answer. " Built here one hundred and fifty years ago, it still brings to the town de- licious water from a spring five miles away. It makes its entry over seventy-four of these arches, the highest being ninety-four feet above the ground. Expensive ? " he continued, " I should say so. Its cost was about one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars; but of that sum eighty- three thousand were contributed by one public-spirited citizen." Leaving our car in the shadow of the aqueduct, we drove to the neighboring city of Queretaro. Its Plaza charmed us with its wealth of palms, banana trees, and semi-tropical vegetation. It was here that Maximilian, during the siege which terminated in his death, was wont to take his evening walk. Accordingly the place recalls one of the most pathetic episodes of modern THE AQUEDUCT. MEXICO 269 THE PLAZ \ QUERETAKO. history. The coming of Maxi- milian to Mexico was not like that of Cortez an attempt at conquest. He came at the so- licitation of a Mex- ican political party which he believed to be decidedly in the majority. One day, in 1863, a dozen men-of-war from England, France, and Spain entered the harbor of Vera Cruz to obtain satisfaction for their governments. Satisfaction for what ? Chiefly for financial loans which these European nations had made to Mexico, and which the Mexican authorities, declaring them- selves bankrupt, had refused to pay. No wonder that poor Mexico was bankrupt. In forty years she had passed through thirty-six changes of government, and had had seventy-three presidents, an average of nearly two a year. Distin- guished Mex- ican represen- tatives were, therefore, pleading with different Eu- ropean powers to come to her assistance. THE HARBOR OF VERA CRUZ. 2/0 MEXICO THE FOl'NTAIN, QUERETARO. One of the sovereigns to whom an appeal was made was Napoleon III. There is no doubt that he and others of the crowned heads of Europe re- ceived the proposition eagerly. Our great republic was then apparently in its death agony. The time was ripe, they thought, to found an empire on the North American conti- nent. Spain wished to give to Mexico a Bourbon Prince. To this Napoleon III. would not consent, but (willing to renounce French claims) agreed to accept an Archduke from the house of Austria, Maximilian. He was a man of noble character and lofty principles. Within his veins flowed royal blood, distinctly traceable through six hundred years. He was accomplished, spoke six lan- guages, and had a gentle dis- position, which attracted all with whom he came in contact. This Prince, in April, 1864, having re- nounced his rights to the throne of Austria, sailed MAXIMILIAN S THRONE. MEXICO 271 with his wife, Carlotta, for the land where they aspired to found a new and glorious dynasty. They were both young ; he was but thirty-two, and she only twenty-four years old. The pros- pect was alluring. Napoleon III. had pledged his army and his treasury to keep them on the throne ; and they looked forward to the time when Mexico, reclaimed from anarchy, would, under their beneficent sway, assume her place among the nations of the earth, a close ally and protege si the Old World. THE BRIDGE Remembering these facts, we left the Plaza of Queretaro and approached a picturesque stone bridge upon the out- skirts of the town. "This-," said the Mexican colonel who was our guide, "was the last point yielded by the imperial army. When this was taken by our troops, no hope remained for Maximilian." Napoleon III. (alarmed at the decisive action of the United States), had heeded Secretary Seward's warning and withdrawn his troops, and, thus 2/2 MEXICO deserted, the Conservative party, which had enthusiastically welcomed Maximilian, was now unable to withstand the Lib- erals under President Juarez. It was unfortunate that Maxi- milian remained in Mexico. He should have abdicated, and returned to Europe with Napoleon's troops ; but certain motives, which we must admire, still detained him. Aside from an unwillingness to give up and confess an ignomini- ous failure, he wished, if possible, to save from vengeance the men whose cause he had espoused and who were cling- ing to his fortunes. Their doom, however, like his own was rapidly approaching. The old Convent of Queretaro, known as La Cruz, was the last retreat and stronghold of the Emperor. It was two o'clock in the morning when Maxi- milian's bosom friend and trusted officer, General Lopez, having resolved to play the part of Judas, proceeded silently through the dark streets to a small opening in the city wall, where he conferred with the republican commander. A plan of action was agreed upon, and so adroitly was it carried out that, two hours later, Queretaro and Maximilian v/ere captured by the Liberals. MEXICO 273 About a mile beyond the city walls is a little eminence called the Hill of the Bells. Hither, at seven o'clock, on the morning of the iQth of June, 1867, were brought the three distinguished prisoners who had been con- demned to die, the Emperor Maximilian and his leading gen- erals, Miramon and Mejia. Three stone posts mark the places where they stood. Stationed at a little distance from them were three thousand soldiers. On arriving, Maximilian stepped from his carriage and handed to a servant his hat and handkerchief, which he requested should be given to his mother and brother. Are we surprised that he left nothing for Carlotta, the wife whom he so dearly loved ? It was because he had been told (no doubt to make his death the easier to bear) that she was dead. If he had known the truth ! In reality, poor Carlotta, who had gone to Europe in the vain hope of gaining some assistance for her husband, had, through her terrible anxiety and disappointment, 274 MEXICO become hopelessly insane. At length the Emperor turned and looked upon the seven men chosen to be his executioners. "Poor fellows ! " he murmured, " they have an unpleasant duty before them." Then, drawing from his pocket seven twenty-dollar gold pieces, stamped with his inscription, he gave them to tho officer in command to be presented to the soldiers when he was no more. " My friends," he said (pointing to his breast) "be good enough to spare my face and aim directly here." Then, looking about him on the lovely landscape, he exclaimed : " What a beautiful day ! It is on such a day as this that I have always wished to die." THE SQUAD OF SOLDIERS. The men who here awaited death were of different nation- alities and each, unconsciously, at this impressive moment showed the characteristics of his race. Mejia was an Indian, and stood with the composure of a fatalist, sadly but uncom- plainingly accepting the decree of destiny. Miramon was of Franco-Spanish origin, and brilliant and audacious jested to the last. The Emperor, with the well-known temperament of the house of Austria, faced death with dignity like his ancestor, Marie Antoinette. His first position was in the centre of the group, but at the last moment it was changed. Miramon, who MEXICO 277 was at the Emperor's left, turning toward Maximilian had laughingly exclaimed, "You see that in this tragedy I am in the position of the impenitent thief." The Emperor answered gravely : " Permit me, then, to yield this place to you. A brave man like yourself deserves it." Thus speaking, he stepped quickly to the left, leaving Miramon in the centre ; and it was where the stone post at the extreme right stands that Maximilian fell. Returning from this mournful spot we saw, in the gov- ernor's palace at Queretaro, the plain pine coffin in which Maximilian's body was brought back from execution. It is in places deeply stained with blood. Not long, how- ever, did his lifeless form re- main in Mexico. A few months later, by permission of the Mexican Government, the body was taken to Vera Cruz, and the same vessel which, three years before, had brought Maximilian and Car- lotta to the New World in THE COFFIN. perfect health and with the brightest anticipations, took back his mutilated form to Austria. Still more pathetic is the fact that the widowed Empress still lives, crazed with grief, a wreck upon the cruel ocean of existence. Saying farewell to Queretaro with some reluctance, on the following evening we left the railroad at a station called El Castillo. Our purpose was to visit the Falls of Juanacatlan, sometimes enthusiastically styled the "Mexican Niagara." Upon the platform stood a gentleman who was presented to us under the euphonious name of Senor Bermejillo. His home MEXICO is in the City of Mexico, but his estate at El Castillo is so vast, that, from the moment we arrived until we left, every point of land on which we stood, and almost everything we saw, was his property. In fact, he has constructed between the station and the falls a private tramway, by which in twenty minutes we reached a place where we beheld in their majestic beauty the Falls of Juanacatlan. The river Lerma (the largest stream in Mexico) here falls seventy feet in one grand mass of creamy foam, six hun- dred feet in breadth. Of course this cannot seri- ou sly be ranked with the stupen- dous volume of Niagara, yet at a glance one sees a re- semblance to it. It is, in fact, Niagara in miniature, a diamond edition of the Horseshoe Falls ; or, as it were, Niagara itself seen through the large end of an opera-glass. We stood for a long time beside this falling river, delighted with its cool, refreshing spray and its unceasing rush and roar. No doubt its beauty appealed to us with added force because of the comparative rarity of waterfalls in Mexico. What I most missed and longed for during our Mex- ican tour was running water, especially as only a few months be- fore I had been traveling in Norway, which is preeminently, of all the countries of the world, the land of cataracts and cascades. FALLS OF JUANACATLAN. MEXICO 279 CITY OF MEXICO. It was seven o'clock in the even- ing when our train arrived in the City of Mexico. A friend who had been no- tified of our arrival met us on the plat- form. " You are in luck," he cried, " there is to be a splendid ball at the Jockey Club to- night. I have secured a ticket for you, and you must go." " What ! after ten days' constant travel ? " I replied. " No, no, I am too tired." " But to-morrow you can rest." "I have not time now to get ready." "You need not go till midnight." " My dress suit is at the bottom of my trunk." " I will unpack it for you." "I do not know the way." "I will call for you in my carriage. Besides," he added, "you will have a chance to see our prettiest senoritas and our President." THE RAILROAD STATION. 280 MEXICO Some hours later, I found myself riding through the city. It was the hottest season of the year, yet both my comrade and myself were comfortable in light overcoats. Through the cab windows I could see block after block of buildings standing ghostlike in the silvery moonlight. Enormous windows, iron gratings, and frequently in front of them a line of donkeys driven by swarthy Indians, suc- ceeded one an- other in a weird monotony. Two STREET WITH BURROS. or three times my comrade pointed out a souvenir of his- tory. "Along this street," he said, "Cortez retreated from the Aztec capital. Just here his leading general, Alvarado, made his famous leap for life, and this," he added, "was the residence of Marshal Bazaine during the French occupation under Maximilian." " Stop a moment," I said, and leaning forward I surveyed the former dwelling of the man whose cruelties contributed so A MEXICAN CAB. MEXICO 281 THE ALAMEDA. much to Maximilian's downfall, and who, on his return to France, betrayed his coun- try by surrendering Metz to the Prussians, and, consequently, died a wretched exile in a foreign land. Never- theless, in looking at these structures, I did not seem to realize where I was ; for, though accus- tomed to unlooked-for incidents in travel, I had never made so strange an entry into a foreign city, when, four hours after my arrival, I drove through moonlit streets with a comparative stranger to a ball, and on the way beheld the forms of dusky Indians crouch- ing in their blankets, and gazed on buildings dating from the days of Cortez. At . last we reached the mansion of the I J Jockey Club, a handsome structure covered with glazed tiles. This singular decoration owes its origin to caprice. The Mexi- cans, to ex- emplify an almost in cred- ible climax of extravagance, are wont to THE JOCKEY CLUB. 282 MEXICO say, " He never will build a house of tiles." Some years ago, however, one of the gilded youth of Mexico resolved to prove that such display was not impossible, and built a house which is enameled from roof to pavement with blue tiles. This, when I saw it on the night of my arrival, was gay with lights, and dif- fused its radiance through the darkness like a porcelain lamp. Alighting from the carriage, we entered the mansion which COURTYARD OF J"CKEY CLt'B. was thronged with guests. Around its spacious courtyard tropic plants formed fragrant walls of foliage and flowers ; and over and around these banks of color floated soft music from an unseen orchestra. Meantime, in the rooms above, the music of a second orchestra invited all to join in dancing, the pastime in which Mexicans excel. At length my comrade led me to a room apart and said, " Allow me to present you to the honored chief of our republic, MEXICO 283 PRESIDENT DIAZ. President Diaz." I saw before me a tall, dignified man about fifty years of age. Although attired in civilian's dress, a glance would have assured me he had been a soldier. His manner was extremely courteous ; but I could not forget, even amid these fashionable surround- ings, that I was in the pres- ence of a man accustomed to command and able to maintain his power against desperate odds. Porfirio Diaz is not only a brave soldier, and the best ruler Mexico has J ever had; he is, besides, an able statesman, who has encouraged the building of railroads, promoted agricultural enterprises, and established friendly intercourse with other nations. At the same time, he has shown wonderful ability and tact in quiet- ing and strength- ening his own land, previously torn by frequent revolutions. On coming into power, instead of banishing or shooting his op- ponents, he won them over to his side. Thus, he THE PRIVATE RESIDENCE OF PRESIDENT DIAZ. 284 MEXICO would send for a man who had been a captain in some revolu- tionary faction, and would say to him : " My friend, you see you are defeated. I have the power now and mean to keep it ; but far from wishing to be rid of you, I need just such brave men as you to help my administration. Let us be friends. You are a captain now ; henceforth, in my army, be a colonel." This shrewd, conciliatory course proved remarkably successful, and the former enemies of Diaz are now his friends. The morning after the ball I started out with my compan- ions to see the City of Mexico by daylight, and we drove immediately to the Plaza May- or, or Great Square, which occupies the centre of the capital. Before us, on one side, rose the cathe- dral, which from a distance had appeared to be well pro- portioned, while its fine towers had won our admiration. The site of the building is historic ; for, on the spot where now its gilded crosses rise toward heaven, stood formerly the grandest temple of the Montezumas, so that the foundation of this Christian church rests on the broken images of Aztec gods. We climbed to one of its belfries and gazed upon the scene below. Directly at our feet lay the Plaza Mayor, which four hundred years ago was an open space before the Aztec temple. THE CATHEDKAL. MEXICO 285 THE NATIONAL PALACE. This square was then the nucleus of the city's life and around it were its finest buildings. A Ro- man would have called it the Aztec Forum. The resi- dence of Monte- zuma has been replaced, on the same site, by the National Palace, where all the dif- ferent govern- ments with which poor Mexico has been blessed or cursed, for centuries, have for a time had their headquarters. At present it contains the official apartments of President Diaz and many of the State Departments. Descending from the belfry we entered the cathedral. Its grand dimensions are imposing, for the vast structure has a length of nearly four hundred feet. Formerly, too, if we can credit what the Span- iards say of it, the richness of its decoration rivaled that of any other in the world ; but most of that mag- nificence has dis- THE CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES. 286 MEXICO THE INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL. appeared, and what remains cannot atone for many se- rious blem- ishes. Thus, for a church like this to have a wood- en floor is painfully in- congruous; and stuccoed walls, how- ever large, cannot command our admiration like statue-crowned and exqui- sitely sculptured stone. Its chapels, it is true, contain a vast amount of gilded ornamentation ; but iron gratings tipped with gold-leaf are not to be compared with the elaborately carved woodwork that we see in Spain, or with the balustrades of malachite and porphyry which we find in Russia ; while the majority of statues in all Mexi- can churches are merely plaster, colored as brilliantly as chromos. The hotel in the City of Mexico best known to travelers was formerly the palace of the short-lived Emperor, Iturbide, whose name it bears. It looks palatial still. It has a height rarely attained by Mexican houses ; electric lights suspended from the roof give to its shadowy corridors the effect of moonlight ; and, most astonishing of all, an elevator (the only one in the re- public in 1892) ascends serenely to the upper story. But from these brilliant externals the tourist must not expect too much from the Hotel Iturbide. Its proprietor has not fully recovered from the attack of self-esteem which the acquisition of the elevator gave him. He sits and looks at it, like a mother gazing on her first-born ; and as the stewards on a certain line MEXICO 289 of trans-Atlantic steamers say, " Our table is poor, but we have never lost a life," so the proprietor of the Iturbide blandly answers all complaints by proudly pointing toward his elevator, which, by the way, is allowed to run only between the hours of ten in the morning and ten at night ! The agent of an American excursion party once applied to the manager of the Iturbide for accommodations. " How much are these rooms a day ? " he asked. " Four dollars each," was the reply. " But," said the agent smiling, " I shall probably bring you eighty people, how much then ? " " Five dollars," said the proprietor, yawning ; " that will make more trouble." One day as I was strolling about the city, I noticed, on the upper story of a house, a bunch of newspapers tied with a string to the iron grating of a window. " What does that mean?" I asked. " It is the recognized sign," was the reply, " that rooms are to rent there." THE HOTEL IT'JRBIDE. 290 MEXICO " What ! " I exclaimed, " is it possible that, to avoid the expense of printing placards, it is the custom here to tie news- papers about a railing when one wishes to let rooms ? " " Precisely so," answered my informant, "and when a news- paper cannot be had, a bit of wrapping-paper answers the same purpose." Not far from this, my companion pointed out to me another private resi- dence, and said, "Beneath that corner window, for six months, regularly ev- ery night, I saw a faith- ful lover 'play- ing the bear.'" " Playing the bear ! " I echoed, "do you refer to the hugs which bears are wont to give their victims ? " " Oh, no !" was the reply, " the Mexican lover plays the part of Bruin in a cage. That is to say, at a fixed hour each day he saunters up and down the sidewalk near his loved one's house, gazes with rapture at her window, and puts his hand discreetly on his heart. Meantime he is being critically examined (no doubt through opera-glasses), not only by the young lady her- self, but by all the other members of her family. After this A MEXICAN HOUSE. MKXICO 291 THE HOUSE OF THE BEAR. dull business has dragged on for several weeks, the bear gets bold enough to write a note, and, holding it in his paw, allows his lady love to see it from a distance. That night she intercepts the servant and obtains it. Most probably, however, the note is read to her mamma and answered, if at all, at her dictation. At length the father appears upon the scene and makes inquiries into the habits of the bear, asking particularly how large an amount of honey he extracts from some commercial beehive ! If a bear market prevails, the lover is accepted. If not, he is warned off the premises." Meanwhile, dur- ing the period of courtship, if the gratings which exclude the bear are on the lower story, the lovers are fortunate in- MEXICO deed ; for, though the advances made by Bruin are not rapid, as an accepted suitor he is allowed to cross the street and talk with his inamorata through the bars. There he will offer her sweet- meats, and may sometimes hold her hand ; occasionally, he will even press it to his lips ; and, possibly, if the space be wide enough, alas ! what will not lovers do in such a case from the days of Pyramus and Thisbe, to our own ? When the bars are on the second story, the wretched lover (forced by necessity to be inventive) induces some kind friend to lend his shoulders as a ladder, and even to play the guitar, so that the lady has the double pleasure of conversing with her fiance and listening to a serenade. Sometimes, however, the serenader's back suddenly gives way, and Romeo unceremoniously drops from heaven to earth. Even when formally admitted to the house, the lover sees the lady only before others, until at last the marriage cere- ^^ mony takes place, and he secures an op- portunity to test the value of the Russian proverb ^'Be- fore going to war, pray once ; before going to sea, pray twice ; before going to get mar- ried, pray three times." Excellent time is made on the tram- PATIO OF PRIVATE HOUSE. MEXICO 293 TRAM-CARS. ways in the City of Mexico. Some of the cars are furnished with a sign requesting passengers not to cause delay by mak- ing their farewells too long! This is, however, a necessary rule, for these affec- tionate people kiss repeatedly, and pat each other caressingly on the back, as they meet and part. Frequently, too, they daintily gather into a group the finger-tips of the right hand, press them an instant to the lips, and then expand them, like the opening of a tiny umbrella, blowing meantime upon the unfolding fingers as if to waft five kisses to the loved one. Walking one day through the Mexican capital, I turned the corner of a street and stopped in astonishment at the sight before me. It was a tram-car drawn by four black horses, and adorned with wreaths of flowers and a tall black cross. More- over, the sides were open, and on a platform in the centre a coffin was distinctly visible. This seemed to me the most extraordinary way in which to utilize a horse-car track that I had ever seen. I doubt if there is anything like it in the world, outside of Mexico ; but here the tram-car com- A FIRST-CLASS FUNERAL CAR. 294 MEXICO A SECOND-CLASS FUNERAL CAR panics are pre- pared to furnish hearses at all prices, from richly decorated vehicles drawn by horses to very plain cars drawn by mules. The great objec- tion to these tram- car funerals is not, as might be sup- posed, their lack of privacy (for the blinds and doors of the cars can be tightly closed), but the rapidity with which the funeral trains are run in order to clear the tracks for regular traffic. In the cheaper grades of funerals the small black mules are driven wildly through the streets, and they rush around the corners at full gallop, presenting an astonishing combi- nation of "the quick and the dea"d." One of the most interesting buildings in the city is the Na- tional Museum, which contains valuable rel- ics of the Aztec race. The first of these to attract my notice was a circular mono- lith of porphyry, three THE ENTRANCE TO THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. MEXICO 295 feet thick, twelve feet in height, and weighing twenty-six tons. Inscriptions prove that this was brought from the quarry to the Aztec capital four hundred years ago. The block itself is remarkable, but more wonderful still is the clear proof which its elaborate carvings give of Aztec civilization and enlightenment. This was their Calendar Stone on which a figure, carved in the centre, indicated the sun, while those which encircle it sym- bolized the months and days of the Aztec year, which was divided into eighteen months of twenty days each, with five complementary days added so as to make three hundred and sixty-five ; and once ^ in fifty years they are said to have allowed for the loss of minutes in their reckoning. Nevertheless, the Aztecs were a curious combination of intelligence and barbarism. Close beside this intricate sun calendar, for example, stands a hideous idol nine feet high. It is the image of their God of War, and was the principal object pointed out to Cortez by Montezuma when he revealed to him the Aztec temple. It was then covered with gold ornaments and jewels, and on the ground before it was a pan of incense containing several human hearts, since to this horrible deity thousands of lives were annually offered. The number of these victims seems incredible. It is supposed that the yearly sacrifices throughout the Aztec empire numbered no less than twenty thousand ; but reduce that estimate even one-half, and the result is appalling. Remembering these facts, we shuddered as we looked upon the Sacrificial Stone which is, perhaps, the most horrible sou- 296 MEXICO venir of priestly power and human cruelty that the world con- tains. It once stood on the summit of the Aztec temple which was, as usual, in the form of a pyramid. There, in the presence of the God of War, and altars never left without their sacred fire, rose this mysterious block of sacrifice. It is a solid mass of polished porphyry, nine feet in diameter and three feet high, with top and sides profusely carved with likenesses of kings, and signs whose meaning is not clearly known ; but one sad fact is plain enough. In the centre of the block is a skull-shaped cavity, from which extends a channel to the outer edge. Within that cavity the victim's head was placed as he lay out- stretched upon the stone. Five priests then held his head and limbs, while a sixth, arrayed in scarlet robes, cut open the vic- tim's breast with a sharp, razor-like instru- ment, and drew forth the still warm and quivering heart. This he at first held up in triumph, then laid it down before the statue i of the god, while thousands in the square beneath bowed low in fear and adoration. Meantime, down the deep channel chiseled in the stone flowed a red stream of sacrificial blood, a terrible libation to the angry deity. It is said that twelve thousand prisoners were sacrificed upon this block, at its dedication, in 1510. On leaving the Museum, we made our way to a charitable institution called the Hospital of Jesus, a building founded by Cortez on the very spot where Montezuma for the first time grasped the Spaniard's hand, and bade him welcome to his capital. It is worth remembering, in these days of will-break- ing, that this old hospital is still maintained by the endowment bequeathed to it by the Conqueror, in spite of many attempts AZTEC IDOL. THE SACRIFICIAL STONE AND IDOL. MEXICO 299 by governments and private individuals to annul the legacy. Reflecting on the sad events which quickly followed the meet- ing here of Cortez and the Aztec king, we climbed a stairway to the second story of the building, and gazed upon the only authentic painting of Hernando Cortez which exists in Mexico. It is not much to look at as a work of art, but it affords abun- dant food for thought, as one surveys those resolute features, in the very building founded by him centuries ago. With all THE HOSPITAL OF JESUS. his faults and cruelties, what energy and courage he possessed, what insight into human nature, and what a firm, indomitable will ! The story of the Conquest reads like a romance. Though he had only a few hundred men, in two weeks after entering the Aztec capital Cortez had caused the sovereign, Montezuma, to be seized and held a prisoner, had captured the Aztec treas- ury, valued at six and a half million dollars, and had ordered many of Montezuma's ministers, who had counseled opposition 300 MEXICO THE PAINTING OF CORTEZ. to the invaders, to be burned to death. A few weeks later the broken- hearted Montezuma also died, despised by those who had formerly trem- bled at his glance. We saw in the hos- pital the standard which the followers of Cortez bore through many des- perate conflicts. Over what dreadful scenes of carnage has this banner floated ! For the Aztec nation was not easily subdued. The armor of the Spaniards, and the sight for the first time of horses and cannon, took them by sur- prise ; but when the invaders tried to burn their temples, and offered violence to their gods, the Aztec's na- tional pride was touched beyond all power of con- trol, and they arose en masse to rescue their country from invasion and their shrines from sacrilege. They were content to lose a thou- sand lives from their own ranks, if they could shed the blood of a single Spaniard. " The THE SACRED BANNER. MEXICO 301 only trouble is," they proudly said, "there are too few of you to glut the vengeance of our gods ! " A mile or two outside the city stands a venerable cedar, known by the name of La Noche Triste, or "The Mournful Night." It was under this tree, on the event- ful evening when the Spaniards retreated from the city, that even the iron resolu- tion of Cortez failed him, and he wept bit- terly at the seemingly overwhelming ruin which had come upon him. For, execrated and pursued by an appalling multitude of Aztecs, the Spaniards had been THE MOURNFUL NIGHT TREE. THE PASEO. 302 MEXICO driven from the capital, fighting for life at every step, bleeding from countless wounds, and, apparently, destined to be massacred ere they could reach the coast. In view of the cruelty and bloodshed which they subsequently caused, it seems almost a pity that they did not all perish. Within a year, however, they had returned, and regained everything that had been lost. Extending westward from the City of Mexico, is a magnificent avenue called the Paseo. This is a feature of their capital of which the Mexicans may justly feel proud, although they are indebted for it to the Emperor Maximilian. It is a noble boulevard, fully two hundred feet in breadth, and straight as an arrow for two miles. On either side are double rows of shade trees, beneath which stroll the multitudes who must content themselves with merely gazing at the brilliant spectacle of carriages and horses, as the fashionable world of Mexico sweeps by. At intervals, this driveway is em- bellished by six circular spaces intended for the statues of distinguished men. Some of these are already occupied ; and that which most attracted me was the monument of Guatemozin, the nephew of Montezuma, and the last of the Aztec emperors. Few men have better merited a bronze memorial than this undaunted hero of a vanquished race. When he knew that his cause was absolutely hopeless, when Montezuma had expired, and the capital had become a vast charnel house, in which the invading Spaniards, sick at last ;E OF GUATEMOZIN. MEXICO 303 of slaughter, could hardly take a step save on the body of an Indian, this Aztec king rejected every summons to sur- render; and, finally, when taken prisoner on the last foot of soil which remained to him, he looked his conqueror, Cortez, proudly in the face and said : " I have done all I could to save my people, but have failed. Draw, then, that dagger from your belt and set me free ! " Cortez, however, filled with admiration, did not strike the blow, although it would have been more merciful if he had done so then and there ; for when the lust for gold had driven nobler feelings from the Con- queror's breast, he shamefully allowed the brave young Emperor to be tortured, in the vain attempt to force him to reveal the hiding-place of the Aztec treasures. Though his feet were soaked in oil, and he was suspended over a slow fire, no amount of suffering caused Guatemozin to betray his secret. The hidden treasure was never discovered, and though the deposed Emperor survived his torture, he was finally hanged by the command of Cortez. CASTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC. 304 MEXICO BIG TREES AT CHAPl'LTEPEC. Reaching the limit of the avenue, we found ourselves before a rocky, isolated hill about two hundred feet in height. It was the world-renowned Chapultepec, the favor- ite residence of Mexican rulers from Montezuma down to President Diaz. The present palace on its summit has no great antiquity, but the majestic cypresses around its base are many centuries old, and have cast their shadows impar- tially upon the Aztec and the Austrian, the conqueror and the conquered. In any portion of the world, apart from their historic associations, these trees would call forth admiration; for some of them are sixty feet in circumference, and Hum- boldt thought that one, at least, had an age of sixteen hun- dred years. It seems appropriate, therefore, that these monarchs of the past should wear, to-day, long pendent veils of soft gray moss, as if in mourning for the line of kings whose gardens once extended far beyond this hill. Per- THE TREE OF MONTEZUMA. MEXICO 307 chance they also mourn their lost companions ; for thousands of the trees between Chapultepec and Mexico were cut down by the Spaniards for material to rebuild the city which, in their final desperate conflict with the Aztecs, they had totally destroyed. The finest of these arboreal giants is called the Tree of Montezuma. I felt myself a pygmy as I stood beside it, not merely in comparison with its gigantic form, but as I measured my brief life with the long series of eventful centuries, of whose slow march its gnarled and twisted limbs gave proof. This cypress may have flourished here before a human voice disturbed the silence of this grove, or a human foot was pressed upon the soil of Mexico. At all events, there is no doubt that it has sheltered Aztec princes glittering in bar- baric splendor, and has looked down for centuries on Spanish cavaliers, sandaled monks, and beautiful Castilian ladies rendered still lovelier by their lace mantillas. American soldiers, too, have marched beneath its sturdy MONUMENT TO MEXICAN CADETS. 308 MEXICO A MEXICAN VALLEY VIEW. to be succeeded in their turn by French Zou- aves; while, mournfully con- spicuous in the historic throng above which its gray moss has waved its wel- come and fare- well, appeared the Austrian sovereigns, Max- imilian and Car- lotta, ill-fated victims of Na- poleon's dream of empire in the Western hemisphere. The view from the summit of Chapultepec is one of the most beautiful in the world. Stretching away from the base of the hill lies an almost circular valley, forty-five miles in length and thirty-five in breadth. It is as level as a tranquil sea, and is surrounded by a mountain wall, which Nature seems to have raised around it to protect her favorite. What wonder that this view has captivated every conqueror who has beheld it ? For, in the centre of this lofty plain, and girdled by empurpled mountains, like a gem encircled by a ring of amethysts, glitters the City of the Montezumas, Mexico. Two of these mountains are the extinct volcanoes, Popocate- petl and Iztaccihuatl, whose summits reach a height of nearly eighteen thousand feet. It is not strange that the Aztecs re- garded them with superstitious awe and reverence, especially, as in their day, and even at the period of the Conquest, the action of Popocatepetl was at times extremely violent. Indeed, the MEXICO 311 name of Popocatepetl signifies " The Smoking Mountain," though, during the present century, the title has hardly been justified. Quite naturally, however, in the period of its activity the Aztecs deemed it the abode of tortured spirits, whose ago- nies within their fiery prison-house caused the terrific groaning of the mountain previous to an eruption, and, finally, the dreadful outburst of its flames and smoke. Until the coming of the Spaniards, no one had dared to ascend it; but the fol- lowers of Cortez, laughing to scorn the warnings of the Aztecs, made an attempt to climb it and succeeded. One of the party chosen by lot was lowered from the crater's edge four hundred feet into the horrible abyss, where he filled baskets with sulphur to be used in the manufacture of gunpowder. Strange, is it not ? The violence of Popocatepetl ceased soon after the ar- rival of the Spaniards, but probably that deadly gift of sulphur proved far more fatal to the Aztecs than all the previous out- bursts that had marked its history. BURRO TRAIN. 312 MEXICO Iztaccihuatl, or "The White Woman," derives its name from the fact that its form resembles that of a dead woman robed in white for burial. From some points of view the likeness is startling. The head appears to fall back, as in death ; and from this lines of snow, like long disheveled silvery tresses, stream in all directions. An Indian tradition says that these volcanoes were once living beings, a giant and a giantess ; but IZTACC1HUATL. that the Deity, angered by their haughty independence, trans- formed them into mountains. The woman died at once and lies outstretched forever in a winding sheet of snow. Her lover, far less fortunate, is doomed to live in full view of her lifeless body ; and when his sorrow becomes uncontrollable, he shakes the earth in his convulsive grief and pours forth tears of fire. Saying farewell one morning to the capital we started to explore the temperate and tropic lands of Mexico, which lie MEXICO 313 THE TRAIN FOR VERA CRUZ. derful journey toward Vera Cruz, ful, for the railway by which it the most remarkable specimens courage that the world can show, eight thousand feet is made in about twenty miles. The steepness of the track can, therefore, be imagined. Rail- road grades seldom exceed a fall of one foot in a hun- dred ; but here there is at times between the ocean and the table- land, bathed in perpetual sun- shine, and rival- ing in beauty and luxuriance the golden gardens of Hesperides. In a few hours we had reached the edge of the great Mexican plateau, and, with some trepidation, began the won- I rightly call it wonder- is accomplished is one of of engineering skill and Most of the descent of DOUBLE-HEADED ENGINE. MEXICO an incline of four feet in a hundred. Standing on the rear platform, we experienced the sensation of sliding down the mountains, and it seemed wonderful that the heavy train did not rush downward to destruction. What kept it from so doing was a monstrous double engine, used, not only to pull its heavy burdens up the mountains, but also to restrain them in the descent. When necessity requires it, one- half of the engine works in a direction opposite to that in which the train is moving, in order to retard the al- most overwhelm- ing force of gravi- tation. It is a serious undertak- ing ; for any un- due impetus on the edge of these stupendous cliffs would mean swift death to every one on board. Few accidents, however, have occurred ; no doubt because they are so constantly anticipated. It is where men are heedless from a sense of perfect safety that real danger lies ; not in the iron bridge watched carefully from hour to hour, but in the little culvert or the loosened rail. I was astonished to perceive that though a brakeman stood on every car there were no air-brakes on our train. " We could not keep them," was the explanation. " As fast as we put them on, the natives, who are inveterate thieves, cut them off and carried them away. In fact, until we riveted the spikes that hold down the rails, they stole them also ; and rubber pads A CURVING BRIDGE. MEXICO 317 A MEXICAN OX-CART. on the steps of Pullman cars invariably suffered the same fate." I noticed that steel ties were used instead of wooden ones, and that the sides , n1 ^attVL. f the cars were of corrugated iron ; since it is claimed that wood will not endure the sud- den changes, daily, from the intense heat of the tropics to the cooler table-land. The scenery on this route is magnificent. At times we saw a broad expanse of cultivated fields three thousand feet below us, the whitewashed buildings on their surface resembling dice upon a checker-board. The trees looked so diminutive, that they recalled the tiny playthings of our childhood called " Swiss Villages." At one point, the descent was so precipi- tous, that the Indians, who had been selling fruit and flowers at a station half up the mountain, ran down the rocks and reached another halting-place before our train arrived, and were ready to renew their traffic. A characteristic feat- ure of this railway journey was the variety of life and merchandise dis- cernible at every station. No sooner would we halt than scores of dark- hued men and women swarmed about the cars, SCENERY ON THE VERA CRUZ RAILWAY. MEXICO crying their wares in harsh, discordant tones which sounded like a chorus of creaking signs on a windy night. The number of these Indian traders, the miscellaneous objects which they sold, and above all the amount of necessary bargaining, in broken English and Spanish spoken on the installment plan, were both novel and amusing. Every part of Mexico seems to have a special article to tempt the tourist. In one place oranges are sold, the next produces baskets of all shapes and sizes ; at Irapuato strawberries are offered every day, the whole year round ; another place is famous for its handsome canes ; another still, for opals or for onyx. Everywhere we heard the cry of " Pulque ! Pulque ! " and had that nauseating mixture offered us by hands that looked more uninviting than the drink itself, all mute, inglorious witnesses of the scarcity of soap. At length we reached our destination for the night, the little town of Orizaba. It was the edge of evening when we strolled through its streets. The temperature was as high as that of New York in July. The air was heavy with the odors of luxu- ^gH^^I riant vegeta- FRUIT-SELLERS AT THE STATION. MEXICO 321 tion. Occa- sionally a jy tufted palm .*r#r u outlined its graceful form against the Hif sky; yet, even 1 ' then, we were v - f . ..- ! ;;.- ' ?l . '. ;''$. ; \ not really 1 r ; *'- ' '-' ''^'v'i ' 4 ^JLfVmu'Tu- HJf! in the Hot -*^*'. '; ' : : ^.ipr Lands. Com- pared with Vera Cruz ,- and its ad- CORN-FIELD AND SLEEPING WATCHER. joining terri- tory Orizaba is cold; and the inhabitants of the coast actually come to this elevation for relief from heat, and to escape yellow fever which is here unknown. Perpetual sum- mer reigns along this Mexican terrace ; not hot enough to make existence unendurable, yet with an air sufficiently relax- ing to cause ambition to appear a farce, exer- tion an ab- surdity, and any special interest in life beyond a cup of coffee, the aroma of a fine cigar, the music of a mandolin, and FARMER BOYS, ORIZABA. 322 MEXICO the smile of a fair senora, not worth the trouble that it costs. Yes, if there be a district in the world especially adapted to a life of dolce far niente, it is the natural terrace on which lie the little towns of Cordova and Orizaba, filled with the fragrance of magnificently timbered forests, and situated equidistant from a plain of almost equatorial heat and the cool shadows of Chapul- tepec. On the Vera Cruz railway we traveled no further toward the coast than Orizaba, be- cause the health offi- cials had in- formed us that if our car descended to the Hot Lands, we should be quarantined on our return. Moreover, although this route is best adapted for a view of Mexico's temperate zone, in order to really see the tropics, another grand descent is preferable, along the recently completed railroad down the mountains to Tam- pico. Accordingly, we made our way to a different point on the edge of the Mexican plateau, prepared this time to take a plunge into the real Tierras Calientes. It was seven o'clock in the morning when we left our car, and, on the brink of the great table-land, seated ourselves on vehicles, which, though much larger than our ordinary hand- THE HAND-CARS. MEXICO 325 cars, nevertheless resembled them. Two benches crossed each, one in the front the other in the rear, and in the space between was a heavy brake, upon the strength of which the safety of our lives depended ; for we were now, by the force of gravity alone, to slide down from the temperate to the torrid zone, upon a curving track, in places steeper than the road to Vera Cruz. Of course, we might have taken a regular train upon this route, but from no ordinary con- veyance could we have viewed and photo- graphed the scenery to such advan- tage as from these open cars. The dif- ference was as great as that between riding in a covered ba- rouche and in an open wagon. There was no danger of a collision, for we had seen the telegraphic order sent to hold the up-train at the base of the mountain till we should arrive. " Had the instructions been received and understood ? " " Click, click, click," came the reassuring answer. It was all right ; the track was clear, and it belonged to us. Vamanos ! The ride that followed was incomparably the most exciting of my life. Now we went dashing through a tunnel which had a temperature as cooling as a shower-bath, or whirling round a precipice upon a shelf of rock, beneath which was a gorge two RAILROAD TO TAMPICO. 326 MEXICO thousand feet in depth ; a moment later, we would slide in a straight line along the glittering grooves with a momentum that would have been frightful, but for the steady hand maintained upon the brake. Even when thus controlled, it seemed at times as if the car were actually alive and leaping forward on the rails like a thoroughbred on the race-track ; for we were making a descent of seven thousand feet in fifteen miles, in- cluding the windings of the track. I must confess that there were moments when I felt a little nervous, and once, when we had attained a speed that made a gentle- man from Chi- cago turn pale and raise his eyes toward heaven, as if considering what his chances were of going there, I called a halt and took some photographs. The railroad winds about the mountains in tremendous loops, like a gigantic serpent. Compared with many feats of engineering here, the famous Pennsylvania Horseshoe Bend sinks into insignificance. The scenery was glorious. The mountains, glistening to their summits with luxuriant vegetation, appeared to be covered with soft, velvet mantles. At times we heard that rare and most delightful sound in Mexico, the music of a waterfall. "What is that?" I presently inquired, turning my field- DOWN THE TRACK. . t MEXICO 329 1 glass toward a mountain summit far above us, "can a farm be located at such a height ? " "Yes," said our guide, "it is a corn plantation, and a good one too." " But how can it be cultivated ? " "Well," said the man, with a twinkle in his eye, " no one can really climb there to work it ; but the owner plants it from a distance by firing the seed from a shotgun ; and, when the corn ripens in the fall, he harvests the crop with a rifle. You see the bul- lets cut the stalks, and, naturally, the ears of corn at once fall down the perpendicular cliffs ! " Around and below us, as far as the eye could reach, lay a vast ocean of intensely colored foliage. Sometimes a power- ful field-glass separated this into plantations of bananas, cof- fee, sugar-cane, and cotton ; in other places, Nature reigned POOL AND FOUNTAIN, NEAR LAS PALMAS. 330 MEXICO NEAR LAS PALMAS. supreme in jungles ten- anted by Mex- ican tigers, lions, mon- keys, and hy- enas. At length our track grew level. This fact alone would have assured us we had reached the Hot Lands, even if the oppressive heat and tropical vegetation had left any room to doubt it. Here, birds of brilliant plumage frequently darted back and forth above our heads in startling numbers and astonishing variety. It is a region marvelously endowed by Nature. Its forests hold choice cabinet woods, in such profusion that mahogany ties are frequently used upon the railroad. The mountains, also, yield a vast amount of onyx, agate, and black marble. The Anu-riraii owner SSSS'Mfi INDIAN VILLAGE, NEAR LAS PALMAS. MEXICO 33i of an onyx mine in the vicinity assured me that although he had employed only fifteen men five years before, he then had a pay- roll of five hundred, and was sending onyx, not only to the City of Mexico, but to New York, Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. Tobacco, too, is indigenous to this country, and was used in the halls of Montezuma long before the time of Cortez. In fact, as is well known, the tobacco plant derives its name from Tabaco, a place in Yucatan. I doubt if there is any- thing more primitive and unconventional among the Hottentots than the homes and costumes of the Indians of the Mexi- can Hot Lands. Their wretch- ed dwellings are not as substantial as the adobe huts of the plateau, but are com- posed of barrel staves, old railroad ties, sugar-cane stalks, pieces of matting, or even palm leaves. The bare ground usually serves the inmates for a bed, and the amount of clothing visible on the vnen and women is astonishingly scanty. The children walk about as innocent of dress as Raphael's cherubs. We occasionally saw articles of attire hung upon a line, but they belonged to the " section men " (usually Americans) employed along the railroad ; for taking in washing is one way in which these Indians earn a liveli- ' INNOCENT OF DRESS. 332 MEXICO hood. Another is the transportation of great burdens on their backs, and what they can accomplish in the way of burden- bearing is almost incredible. Many of them will carry heavy loads forty-five miles in a single day, and as a rule will surpass a horse in endurance. Their hair is usually left thick above their eyes, to serve as a matting for the strap which holds the load, and thus, with bowed heads, they will go as fast as a horse can walk. This is not a new characteristic of the Mexican HEAVILY LOADED. Indians. Before the Conquest let- ters were carried through the Aztec empire by swift-footed cou- riers, the distance between Vera Cruz and Mexico (about two hundred miles), being traversed in twenty-four hours. Such messages were, generally, trans- mitted in picture writings traced on cloth made from the Maguey plant ; and in this manner Montezuma was informed of the landing of Cortez and his warriors on the coast. One of the most enjoyable excursions that I made in Mexico was to the ancient Pyramid of Cholula. It does not look MEXICO 333 PYRAMID OF CHOLULA. pyramidal at present, but ap- pears to be merely a natural hill two hundred feet in height. Yet, though to-day ir- regular in shape and covered with vegetation, it was originally the work of man, and formed a mighty pyramid, upon the top of which stood an impos- ing temple. Un- der the hollow covering of earth that has collected upon its surface, it is composed of layers of clay and sun-dried bricks, which formed a solid mass, the base of which occupied no less than forty-five acres, while the summit reached a height of two hundred feet. The amount of labor here in- volved is al- most incon- ceivable. "Did it, then, rank with the great Pyramids of Egypt ? " one naturally in- quires. In one sense, yes ; for INTERIOR OF CHURCH, CHOLULA. 334 MEXICO the enormous area of its base was larger; but, on the other hand, its height was not one-half as great as that of Cheops, or of Cephren, nor can its layers of bricks (though numbered here by millions) produce at all the same impression as do the mighty monoliths that make up the Egyptian pyramids, reared by an almost superhuman power beside the Nile. GIVING TO TWO AT ONCE. Reaching the summit of Cholula's ancient mound, we stood before the pretty church erected there. " The King is dead, long live the King ! " One deity has been dethroned, another reigns here in his place. A Christian shrine now stands upon the Aztec pyramid, much as in Rome the statue of St. Peter surmounts the column of Trajan. Yet it would seem as if the deities thus expelled had left their curse upon the place, for only crumbling shrines and wretched hovels remain in the poor village of Cholula which, nevertheless, in the time of Cortez was the most sacred of all Indian towns, the Mecca of the Aztecs. MEXICO 335 A PUBLIC BATH. Looking southward, a wonderful feature of the valley met our gaze in the silvery dome of Popo- catepetl a pyramid of God, beside which all the works of man dwindle to in- significance. One never tires of this majestic peak. For ages it has made the landscape glorious, whether glowing with volcanic fires, or stand- ing in god-like dignity, wrapped in its mantle of eternal snow; and while empires, dy- nasties, and races have lived their little lives, like insects, at its base, it has re- mained, in Na- ture's realm, the real, incompa- rable, God-ap- pointed sovereign of Mexico. VIEW FROM CHOLULA. 336 MEXICO Whatever else of Mexico may be forgotten, I shall remem- ber to my latest breath that wonderfully impressive vision from Cholula. Before me rose, against the darkening sky, a mighty cross, the sculptured proof that here Christianity had proved victorious ; and as I lingered, my feet upon the Aztec pyramid, my hand upon the symbol of the conquerors' faith, my eyes turned toward that everlasting pinnacle of snow, I thought the lesson of Cholula to be this : that higher, grander, and far more enduring than all the different religions of humanity is the Eternal Power they imperfectly reveal; and that above the temples, pyramids, and crosses, which mark the blood-stained pathway of our race, rises a lofty mountain peak, whose glory falls alike upon the Aztec and the Spaniard, and in whose heaven-born radiance all races and all centuries may find their inspiration and their hope. mm- ** , A 0003777513 I It*