THE MEXICAN IN NEW MEXICO 23 



dictionary and grammar out of window, de- 

 clare the Mexican to be the lingo of the 

 imbecile, and if you have leisure sufficient- 

 break out in a tirade against a Constitution 

 which permits of such lapses from common- 

 sense in its code of citizenship, etc. Finally, 

 you firmly resolve to insist on your employes 

 learning the language of their own country 

 the American. After awhile comes a modified 

 relenting, aided by circumstances over which 

 it cannot be said that you have control. But 

 you are no longer an enthusiast. One does 

 not, for instance, repair to Ireland to learn 

 English. And even were it the Spanish 

 you would learn, you gradually grow to feel, 

 as work and cares increase, that a language 

 whose equivalent for ' umbrella ' is ' an-article- 

 to -be -held -above -the -head -as -a- protection - 

 from-the-weather ' is well, to put it mildly, 

 out of date. The word in question may not 

 be exactly * umbrella,' neither may its Spanish 

 equivalent be precisely accurate, but this is 

 the effect of the language upon the novice. 

 Anyhow, we have but one life, and that is 

 short. Stray weeds of Mexican speech are 

 gathered by the wayside, and with these the 



