152 Ten Years of my Life. 



music and singing. The young folks come also together for a 

 hop, or a tertulla, as such a ciaTicing party is called in JMexico. 



Though there are about half a million of negroes amongst 

 the eight millions of inhabitants in Mexico, there are scarcely 

 any in the city of Mexico. The house servants are Indians, 

 mostly young girls, who are very kindly and familiarly treated. 

 They are very clever with their hands, and there are many 

 amongst them who embroider extremely well. 



More than half the population of the country are Indians. 

 Those living in the plateau of Mexico and neighbourhood are 

 the descendants of the Aztekes, who three hundred years ago 

 astonished the Spaniards by their civilisation, which many say 

 was more advanced than even that of the ancient Egyptians, 

 The conquerors, who expected to encounter savages, saw in 

 their sumptuous city splendid buildings, ornamented with ob- 

 jects of art, and a highly developed industry. Though not 

 acquainted with iron or steel, they understood how to cut the 

 hardest stones, and to work in gold and silver, in a manner 

 which is still admired. Their clothes were fine, and in many 

 sciences they were at least as far advanced as most of the rude 

 Spaniards who came to betray their hospitality. 



What has become of this intelligent, industrious people? 

 The manner in which the English treated the North American 

 Indians, bad and unjust as it was, may find at least some ex- 

 cuse in the stubbornness of these savages, with which they 

 refused all attempts to civilise them ; but the Aztekes were no 

 savages, and if their priests were cruel, they were really not 

 more so than the fanatical Christian priests, who, instead of 

 teaching them the religion of love, punished them for the mis- 

 fortune of their religious errors by burning them wholesale, 

 and treating them worse than wild animals. 



Tyranny and slavery have everywhere the same debasing 

 effect, of which history furnishes so many instances that it 

 would be superfluous to mention any, whilst liberty is every- 

 where the mother of industry and progress. 



Persecuted and oppressed as the Indians were, they fled to 

 the woods, where they were not molested by the conquering 

 race, but were deprived of all means of education. Their 

 children grew up in ignorance, and even their mechanical skill 

 vanished almost entirely in the course of time. They were 

 satisfied to live^ and as bountiful Nature let them find easily 



