124 



MEXICO. 



were drawn up before the palace, with the artillery in 

 advance ; and it was with the utmost difficulty I could 

 make my way into the cathedral. Every part of its 

 pavement was crowded. 



I had hardly made my way to the high altar, when the 

 deep bell of the church tolled half past nine, and the lofty 

 roof and the impending dome resounded with the burst 

 of sounds which instantly pervaded the great city from 

 one end to another ! Within— the trumpet and full organ 

 mingltd their burst with the clang of the great bells ; 

 the dark veil which had shrouded the high altar parted 

 and rolled back, displaying the gorgeous pile of ornament 

 which it had concealed. Without — the artillery thun- 

 dered in the square — the bells of every church and con- 

 vent through the city clanged incessantly, and were an- 

 swered by those in the towns and villages far and wide 

 — the Judases exploded by thousands, and the multitude 

 hailed the conclusion of the Holy Week ! 



Before an hour was at end, the streets resounded to 

 the roll of the carriages, and the sounds of innumerable 

 hoofs ; the calzadas and canals were crowded with In- 

 dians returning to their homes; the buyer and the dealer 

 repaired to their traffic ; the idler to his vices, and the 

 gambler to the monte table. The robber, exulting un- 

 der his lightened conscience, betook himself to his stand 

 in the pine forest, to commence a fresh career of rapine ; 

 and the assassin to the resumption of his cherished 

 schemes of blood and vengeance. The reopening of the 

 opera was publicly announced, and the citizens joyfully 

 anticipated the recommencement of bullfights. 



And this is Christianity ! and the worship of the only 

 true God ! to introduce which, in place of existing su- 

 perstitions, the blood of millions of the blind heathen of 

 this vast region was shed by its Spanish conquerors ! The 

 plea for all the cruelties exercised against the aborigines 

 was their idolatry, and their inhuman sacrifices ; and the 

 most exaggerated statements, suited to excite the horror 

 and extinguish the compassion of the bigoted Catholics 

 of Europe., were found necessary, and were made 3 to pal- 



