(Religion* 93 



Not all the great dignitaries of the Church exhibited an unchristian 

 selfishness, for many often spent their income in pious and charitable 

 works, and in prosecuting missionary undertakings among the Indians 

 of the remote distances. 



The wealth of the Church was loaned out at a moderate rate of in- 

 terest to landed proprietors, who formed the moral support of the 

 Church among the laity and whose influence was prodigiously strong. 

 The wealth of the Church was mostly in mortgages, while it held a 

 large amount of real estate. In the City of Mexico and other places, 

 the clergy owned a large portion of the real estate and held a great 

 many mortages, and, to its credit be it said, was not at all usurious, ex- 

 acting only a fair rate of interest and being hardly ever oppressive in 

 dealing with delinquent debtors. 



After the Revolution which effected the independence of the 

 country, the ecclesiastical life began to cease having many of the 

 attractions it had before. While many men became friars from 

 genuine inclination and vocation, not a few went into the religious life 

 because it gave them support without hard labor, and because it was 

 one of the best careers opened to young men at the time. 



The nunneries sheltered a great many pious women, who effected 

 some good as educators of the young, as almoners for the wealthy, and 

 as nurses of the sick. There were abuses, of course, but on the whole 

 the religious life afforded a refuge for many thousands of good women 

 who felt drawn to works of charity and usefulness. Rich young girls 

 were often over-persuaded to enter the convents, by avaricious and 

 scheming priests, but such abuses are common to all religions. The 

 Liberal party thought that the best way to destroy the Church influence 

 in Mexico was to suppress convents, both of friars and nuns, because they 



ited in bizarre forms, and in such small details of design and color as the potter can 

 attain, should see at Queretaro the work of Tresguerras, architect, sculptor, and pain- 

 ter. Any modern architect, who is led away by straining after effect in a grotesque 

 combination of distinct Greek styles with mediaeval and early English, having no note 

 of originality anywhere, could study with profit the simple elegance as simple as the 

 Old Louvre of the Bishop's Palace in Queretaro, or the wood-carving in the church 

 of the sequestered Convent of Santa Rosa. In my remembrance there is not, on such 

 a great scale, any wood-carving in the world equal to it in freshness and largeness of 

 execution and in beauty of design. It could not have been all done by the hand of 

 Tresguerras, but it was all from his designs and under his superintendence. Of course, 

 as to civic and ecclesiastic architecture, climate and lack of popular taste for the beauti- 

 ful put limits upon our architectural work, but it is worth the while of the American 

 architect to consider whether he cannot learn more from our sister republic below the 

 Tropic of Cancer than he is likely to get from the well-studied structures of Europe. 

 In many petty and poverty-stricken Indian villages are charming towers and curious 

 faades which would be a most valuable education in the principles of taste to any 

 American community." 



