52 



necessary, to place the equestrian statue, which 

 the Indians call the great horse, in a particular 

 enclosure, paved with large slabs of porphyry, 

 and raised more than fifteen decimetres above the 

 level of the adjacent streets. The oval, the great 

 axis of which is a hundred metres, is encircled by 

 four fountains, and closed, to the great discontent 

 of the natives, by four gates, the bars of which 

 are ornamented in bronze. The engraving is a 

 faithful copy of a drawing on a larger scale by 

 Mr. Ximeno, a distinguished artist, and director 

 of the class of painting in the academy of Mexico. 

 The figures in the drawing placed beyond the 

 enclosure, are in the dress of the Guachinangoes, 

 or lower class of the Mexican people *. 



* See my Political Essay on the Kingdom of New-Spain, 

 French edition, pages 119, 168, 177, and 186. 



