MEXICAN CHARACTER. 293 
and sensitive people ; yet, none are more easily subdued by kindness — 
none more easily won by a ready disposition to mingle in their ranks, and 
treat them witH a due respect for their habitudes and their prejudices. 
There may be other reasons, too, why Mexicans have been jealously 
shy of strangers. It seems impossible for them to get rid of the idea, 
that European powers are seeking to obtain their wealth and territory, 
and to reestablish the systems from which they freed themselves by so 
many years of revolutionary war ; nor can they (since the Texan war,) 
ilivest themselves of the erroneous notion, that the United States has evei 
a longing eye on their Capital and country. 
There are but few entertainments given in Mexico, in comparison with 
those of other cities abroad, where a lavish expenditure in viands, lights, 
and amusements for the few hours of a single evening, are mistaken for 
the elegancies and refinements of genuine hospitality ; — instead, however, 
of these ostentatious displays, there are frequent reunions at teriuUas, 
^vhere an hour or two are most agreeably spent in friendly intercourse, 
and the unrestrained flow,of pleasant and instructive conversation. 
I have already alluded to the extreme of fashionable life, and its dispo- 
sition for the theatre ; and I do not intend to treat again of the propensity 
of the ultras to living thus constantly in the public eye, without devoting 
a portion of each day to that domestic intercourse and reunion which 
make the comfort and beauty of an English or American fireside. I 
speak, however, of that juste milieu of society, wherein resides the virtue 
and intellect of a country ; and I had an excellent opportunity of judging 
of the private life of this class during my stay in the Capital. 
It was my good fortune to reside for more than half a year in a native 
family, once rich and titled, but broken in fortunes by the political and 
commercial vicissitudes of the Republic, and it was there that I con- 
stantly witnessed the most beautiful evidences of a filial devotion and 
parental love, amounting almost to passionate attachment. The lady at 
the head of the establishment, (as I remarked in a preceding letter,) was 
a person who had been distinguished for her talents and accomplishments 
in the days when Mexico was adorned with the splendor of a Spanish 
court. She would have been considered highly cultivated in any coun- 
try ; her manners were excellent; her bearing graceful and courteous ; 
and a wide circulation in her youth among distinguished men, (both before 
and during the Revolution,) and a ready talent for imparting her recol- 
lections, made her conversation delightful and instructive. Besides this, 
she possessed a genius for miniature painting and sketching in crayons, 
rarely attained by a female, and worthy of a distinguished artist. Qual- 
ities, like these, brought around her constantly a large and intelligent cir- 
cle of both sexes. The change of fortune had by no means diminished 
her estimation in society, and the numbers of fast friends who adhered to 
