General Santa Anna. 143 



general had no objection to ascend the old throne of Monte- 

 zuma. On July 2 1, he was crowned as Emperor Augustin I. 

 Several European princes, to whom this dangerous crown had 

 been offered, had refused. 



General Santa Anna, a very ambitious and intriguing man, 

 who had been a great favourite of Iturbide, fell off from him, 

 and headed an insurrection, in consequence of which the new 

 Emperor had to fly, in 1S20, with his family to Europe. Re- 

 lying on his popularity, he returned to Mexico in the summer 

 of 1824, was taken prisoner, and shot. His name is, however, 

 still popular, and many places and establishments in Mexico 

 bear his name. 



The house in which he lived, and which is built in rococo 

 style, is now an hotel, and called by its industrious owner 

 ' Hotel Iturbide.' 



I have mentioned already the aqueducts, which convey good 

 water from two different directions. For drinking it is always 

 iced, as in the United States, and the Mexican mountains, 

 especially the Popocatopetl, furnish plenty of this absolutely 

 necessary commodity. Great quantities are also imported from 

 North America. 



At the end of the aqueduct of Belen, which comes from the 

 inexhaustible basin of Chapultepec, has been built in rococo 

 style a fountain, called Salto del Agua. It is more curious 

 than pretty, and by no means embellished by two ugly sitting 

 female figures. In the centre there is an alto relievo, repre- 

 senting the arms of Mexico as the Spanish kings wanted it. It 

 is a European eagle, with a cross on its breast, holding a shield 

 with arms around it. The Republic has accepted the old 

 Azteke eagle, sitting on a cactus. More interesting than the 

 structure of this fountain is the life around it, and amongst the 

 people crowding there the aguadores, or water carriers, occupv 

 the most prominent place. They fill with this water large bul- 

 let-shaped earthen vessels with handles, which they carry by 

 means of leather straps fastened over their shoulders, or some 

 times their heads. Their cries of ' Agua ' are heard all day. 

 They pour the water into the large stone filters, which are every- 

 where. 



I shall mention here that bath-rooms are in almost every 

 house, and there are also many public baths. The Mexican 

 ladies generally take their baths after returning from their 



