590 " Mexico ;" and " Mexican Illustrations" 



month ; but the teeth and nails are left to themselves,, and shaving takes place 

 only every fifth or sixth day. 



" The labouring classes are very early risers ; for, as they lie down in their 

 clothes with no other covering than the serape, they have only to rub their 

 eyes, yawn, pull the cloak over their shoulders, and the whole toilette is 

 finished. 



" The serape, however, is the great curse of the Mexicans, the bane of 

 industry, and the conserver as well as propagator of infectious diseases : it is 

 made like an oblong blanket, with a slit in the centre to put the head through, 

 and is, among the mass of the people, almost invariably of a sombre dark 

 colour. 



ff When the sun shines hot, the inhabitants cover themselves up to the eyes 

 to keep out its rays ; when the chilly mornings and evenings make the cold 

 more piercing from the intense heat of the day, the serape is again made use 

 of, to keep its owner warm : but, in either case, so long as this cloak is not 

 thrown off, no kind of work or exertion can be undertaken." 



In his examination of the City of Mexico, Mr. Beaufoy seems to take 

 one course very likely to lead him into error. He clearly looks at every 

 object less with reference to its actual value, than to the terms in which 

 some other writer Mr. Bullock particularly happens to have described 

 it. On a great number of points, however, and material ones, his stric- 

 tures are confirmed by the more guarded and considerate account of Mr. 

 Ward: 



" Mexico is decidedly the most regularly built and the handsomest town I 

 ever saw, but is situated on a vast flat, of horrible aspect ; a wet marsh on 

 one side a barren level, covered with depositions of soda, on the other; 

 houses built on piles, which frequently sink deeper into the swamp ; and 

 streets so devoid of the slightest inclination, that, after a heavy storm, the 

 water will remain stagnant in them for hours together. 



" When this metropolis was a second Venice, rising from the bosom of an 

 immense lake which washed the very bases of the mountains, it must have had 

 a far nobler appearance ; but, after three centuries of strenuous activity, the 

 Spaniards have succeeded in driving back the sheet of water to the distance of 

 three or four miles, although they never could contrive to drain the aguish 

 marshes they had thus so prudently created. 



" The streets of this beautiful city are all straight and at right angles to 

 each other, most of them a mile or a mile and a quarter in length, as wide as 

 Pall Mall ; and, from the peculiar style of architecture, with flat roofs and 

 ornamented fronts, there is nothing seen in any direction either monotonous or 

 shabby. The outskirts, however, like those of all Spanish cities I have ever 

 heard spoken of, are full of ruins, rubbish, and filth; and even in the really 

 splendid interior of the town, there are many handsomely-decorated fronts 

 which conceal the most dirty and wretched abodes of the poorer classes. 



" The houses are of stone, and much superior, I think, in construction, to 

 any thing we can boast of in Britain. They are built round an open court, 

 either with two or three stories above the ground-floor, and balconies to each, 

 which are usually filled with pots of flowers or small shrubs. 



" The roofs are flat, and form a pleasant terrace to walk on, being also 

 sometimes ornamented with flowers and shrubs ; but much more frequently 

 are tenanted by large ferocious dogs, which effectually deter thieves from 

 attempting to swing down into the balconies of the inner court, and rob the 

 houses. 



" The pavement of the principal streets is excellent, being of small stones, 

 with a narrow covered channel in the centre as a drain, arid with good flag 

 footpaths on each side ; they are lighted with large glass lamps, containing 

 oil; and water is conveyed by pipes from the aqueducts to the different 

 houses." 



