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 Chapter 1:
Introduction

Test Bank for Learning and Memory, 4th Edition

: Terry
full chapter at: https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-
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ENHANCED
OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS

A. Many facts and principles about learning and memory processes have been
developed since the formal start of psychology in 1879.

B. These facts and principles have been developed at the same time that everyday
individuals have accumulated “common-sense” based notions about the nature of
learning and memory.

C. This book will attempt to merge the “common-sense” notions with the science of
learning and memory. Some examples:

1. Spaced vs. Massed practice

2. Forgetting and Hypermnesia

3. Feedback and Performance

4. Do subliminal learning tapes actually work?

II. THE ORIGINS OF THE STUDY OF LEARNING

A. The philosophical movements of Empiricism and Rationalism in the 1600s-1700s,

and the start of Evolutionary theory in the 1800s fostered a scientific interest in
learning.

B. The field of Epistemology, in general, studies how knowledge is acquired.

1. Is learning due to nature (biological forces) or nurture (experienced-based
elements)?

2. Descartes argued that some sources of knowledge can be innate, put into
us by God.

3. John Locke and the Empiricists argued that all knowledge is derived from
experience.
 a. Empiricism was based on the premise that different laws of
Association were responsible for how knowledge was acquired.

b. The law of Contiguity suggests that events occurring together in

time are associated.

c. The law of Frequency argued that events that are repeatedly

contiguous are associated.

d. The law of Similarity suggests that ideas that resemble one another
come to be associated.

e. The law of Contrast argues that ideas that are dissimilar become
associated together.

f. All of these laws function by way of “mental chemistry,” which

involves reflecting on existing ideas to produce a novel thought.

C. Darwin’s “The Origin of Species,” published in 1859, described how organisms

evolved over the course of generations.

1. A critical notion in Darwin’s work was how the process of adaptation

allowed a species to evolve.

2. The connection of evolution to learning is that the capacity to learn

evolved as an adaptive specialization.

a. Psychologists interpreted Darwin’s work in the context of allowing

an individual to learn, and adapt, during the course of one’s
lifetime.

D. Contemporary influences arising from early philosophical and biological ideas

include biological preparedness for learning, which has been illustrated in the
contexts of language acquisition and other specialized learning systems (such as
phobia learning).

III. THE DEFINITION OF LEARNING

A. Learning is defined as a relatively permanent change in behavior, or behavioral

repertoire, that occurs as a result of experience.

1. The changes in behavior may or may not be observable.

2. The types of behaviors that may be taken as evidence of learning include

overt behavior of organisms, physiological responses, and verbal reports.
 3. The changes in behavior may also not be readily noticed, as an experience
may simply result in the potential for behavioral change, contingent upon
proper environmental conditions.

B. Some behaviors that may seem as if they are due to learning are typically
excluded from the formal definition of learning.

1. Care must be taken when behavioral changes are attributed to either

biology or the environment; these factors tend to interact, making strict
divisions between them difficult to see.

2. Such exclusions include changes in behavior due to physical, neural, and

cognitive maturation.

3. Other exclusions refer to temporary fluctuations in behavior, including

changes in arousal, fatigue, or motivation.

IV. THE LEARNING / PERFORMANCE DISTINCTION

A. Behavioral measures are sometimes inaccurate because the fail to show the
difference between what subjects know and what they do: this is the Learning /
Performance distinction.

B. The classic example of the Learning / Performance distinction is Tolman and

Honzick’s (1930) latent learning experiment.

1. In their experiment, Tolman and Honzick studied maze running ability in

rats who were either a) never reinforced for running through a maze, b)
always reinforced for running through a maze, or c) reinforced for maze
running after going through a period where they were not reinforced.

2. Results revealed that learning ability was slow/nonexistent for rats who
were not receiving any reinforcement, but once reinforcement was
provided, rats who were previously not reinforced ran through the maze at
a rate that was equal to, or faster than, those animals who always received
reinforcement.

3. This “hidden” learning ability, revealed only when necessary, is what

latent learning is.

C. Stereotype threat also illustrates how performance does not always correlate with
underlying knowledge.

1. Presenting individuals with a certain negative stereotype may induce that

individual to give in to the implied suggestion (e.g., informing an elderly
 person that older people tend to be forgetful may result in that person
being more forgetful than normal).

V. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TERMS “LEARNING” AND “MEMORY”

A. The terms “learning” and “memory” have , over the years, referred to different
processes.

B. The term “Learning” has be used in reference to:

1. Conditioning and reinforcement tasks

2. Non-human animal subjects

3. Skills requiring repeated trials for acquisition

4. The unconscious conditioning of specific behaviors

C. The term “Memory” has been used in reference to:

1. Verbal recall tasks

2. Studies of human subjects

3. Material presented for study just once

4. The conscious recollection of previous experiences

D. A more specific approach to learning and memory would be to say that

“Learning” refers to the acquisition of knowledge, whereas “Memory” deals with
retaining and recalling the acquired knowledge.

1. Learning tends to be illustrated by learning curves.

a. Negatively accelerated curves show high amount of learning

during the early portion of a training period, followed by relatively
little improvement in later training episodes.

b. “S” shaped curves show little learning at first, followed by the

standard negative acceleration curve.

c. Power curves illustrate learning as occurring in a constant manner

across trials, with straight lines, not curves, representing the
progress of a learning period.

2. Memory tends to be illustrated by forgetting curves.

 a. These patterns tend to parallel learning curves, in the sense that
when forgetting does occur, it happens to a greater extent at the
start of a retention period, with the rate of memory loss slowing
thereafter.

E. Since learning and memory seem to be dependent on one another, some have
suggested that the effectiveness of learning is revealed by the level of retention
that one exhibits.

VI. BASIC AND APPLIED RESEARCH

A. Basic Research seeks to understand the fundamental processes of learning and

memory, and involves questions that are not always directly applicable outside of
the laboratory.

B. Applied Research is relevant to answering specific, practical, problems.

C. Basic and applied research are not totally independent of one another, however, as
they tend to feed off of one another to answer questions about behavior.

D. Research in the fields of learning and memory also tries to distinguish between
common sense and common knowledge.

1. Although people have some accurate understandings of how learning and

memory operate, many myths still exist.

2. Some of these myths concern the nature of amnesia, eidetic imagery,

memory under hypnosis, and the role of forgetting.

3. Many people also believe that one’s general memory ability can be
improved via practice, but this is not supported by research.

a. People can improve specific memory skills (e.g., memory for

names or address, random number sequences, etc.), but having a
strong memory for a specific domain does not always transfer
across other memory areas.

E. Another major area that is discussed in the context of basic and applied research is
the use of animals in research.

1. Animals can be beneficial in the research process for several reasons:

a. The experiences of animal subjects before, during, and after an

experiment can be more tightly controlled that those of human
subjects.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
when it would break with force against the bulwarks built up against
it.
Morelos could die content. He had achieved for himself no proud
seat on the throne of the Montezumas; he asked no such reward.
He had forcibly impressed upon his country the ideas first given to
him and them by the Curate Hidalgo. The impression was not
washed out, but made fast by the blood he caused to be shed, and
his own.
If glory was his aim, that he has attained. The Mexicans adore
Morelos. His native town is baptized anew with his name, and the
state bears the name of Morelos, which contains Cuautla, the town
he defended for sixty-two days with the patience of the muleteer
and the obstinacy of his animals.
If the subsequent leaders of Mexican independence have not been
always true to the example he gave them, of unselfish devotion to
his cause, the great population has never wavered in its devotion to
his memory.
In the public square of Morelos, capital of the state which also bears
his name, is a marble statue of the hero, set up during the French
occupation, on September 30, 1865, the one hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Morelos. The Emperor Maximilian presided on the
occasion.
 XXVII.
YTURBIDE.
Calleja remained several months at the head of government and
then returned to Spain, having taken vigorous measures to
extinguish forever, as he thought, the flames of insurrection. In the
last days of his administration he arrested and sent to a convent two
women distinguished for their devotion to the cause of
independence; one of them, Doña Josefa Dominguez, the wife of the
man who began with Hidalgo the agitation of the subject.
Calleja returned to Spain, where he was made Conde de Calderon.
He was cruel and despotic, and has left in Mexico a name much
detested.
The struggle for independence continued in several parts of the
country, but the Spanish government, with good troops and ample
resources, either dispersed or routed the rebellious forces. Some of
the chiefs of the insurrection abandoned the cause, accepting the
indulgence offered them by the viceroy, while others retired to the
mountains, like Pelayo in the early days of Spain, when the Moors
swept over the Peninsula, to keep active for happier days the sacred
fire of liberty.
The successor of Calleja, Apodaca, by his conciliatory and humane
conduct, did much to tranquillize society near the capital, but ideas
of independence were still working all over the country. Guerrero,
who must be counted among the heroes of the movement, showed
an unwearying activity in the campaign. Many times his forces were
routed; many times they triumphed; neither success nor defeat
made him waver. He was covered with wounds, but heeded them
not; he was deaf to proposals of clemency from the royalists. In the
mountains of the south, to which he retired, he kept up constant
warfare upon the Spanish troops, and even set up a new national
government. This he continued without falling into the hands of the
royalists until 1820, when the course of Yturbide put a stop to a
warfare which had lasted ten years and soaked in blood the soil of
Anahuac.
The French had been driven from Spain in 1814, and Ferdinand VII.
was again upon the throne, but there was a revolution in 1820, by
which he was compelled to surrender much of the authority which
he had taken upon himself in spite of his oaths and promises. He
was obliged to convoke the Cortés, to change his ministers for
liberals, to abolish the Inquisition, free the press, and re-establish
the national militia.
Such events awoke again the demand for a liberal government in
Mexico. It was then that an officer in the royalist army, a native
Mexican, who had hitherto distinguished himself on that side, now
changed his allegiance, and took up the cause of independence.
The concessions forced on King Ferdinand were celebrated in Mexico
on the 31st of May, 1820, the suppression of the Inquisition and the
liberty of the press being subjects of great rejoicings. The
independent party saw in these reforms an opportunity to avail
themselves of the new element to realize their most ardent visions.
A great division was produced among the resident Spaniards of the
country, for while some of these declared in favor of the constitution,
the greater part showed themselves hostile to it, still clinging to
ideas of absolute power, and foreseeing that so great a political
change would hasten the independence of Mexico.
Agustin de Yturbide was born in the city of Valladolid, not then re-
named Morelia, on the 27th of September, 1783. His parents were of
native Mexican blood, Joaquin de Yturbide, born in Pamplona, and
Ana Arámburu.
He had entered a royalist regiment before he was sixteen years old,
and until 1808 he showed himself a vigorous opponent of the liberal
party, serving with his troops in different parts of the country, always
signalizing himself by his valor, his activity, and his adroit
combinations to bring about the defeat of the cause opposed to his
own. Through the intervening grades he passed to be colonel, and
held commands of importance at Guanajuato and Valladolid.
In the diversity of opinions of 1820, Yturbide was among those who
accepted the idea of a complete separation for Mexico from the
Peninsula. Just at that time the viceroy conferred upon him the
grade of brigadier, and gave him command of a body of troops
destined to operate against the insurgents of Guerrero in the south.
Yturbide left the capital in November, and a month later found
himself confronted by an enemy of something like three thousand
men. After several encounters unfavorable to his command, Yturbide
entered into an active correspondence with the opposing chief, the
result of which was an interview for friendly conference. Both
generals found themselves in accord, for, to the surprise of Guerrero,
his opponent revealed an ardent desire to proclaim independence.
Guerrero, without personal ambition, willingly handed over the
command to the renegade, who announced, on February 24th, the
so-called "Plan of Iguala."
Three essential articles made up this proposal: (1) the preservation
of the Roman Catholic Church, with the exclusion of other forms of
religion; (2) the absolute independence of Mexico under the
government of a moderate monarchy with some member of the
reigning house of Spain upon the throne; and (3) the amicable union
of Spaniards and Mexicans. These three clauses were called the
"three guaranties." When the national Mexican flag was devised
later, its colors represented these three articles of the national faith
—white for religious purity, green for union, and red for
independence. The army of Yturbide was known as the army of the
three guaranties.
Upon this basis the contest was resumed. It found favor in many
parts of Mexico, and the independent troops, with their chiefs, very
generally gave in their adherence at once to the Plan of Iguala.
As soon as the viceroy could recover from his surprise on waking up
one day to find a brigadier of his own troops concerting a revolution,
he issued manifestoes against the undertaking, and at once set
about raising an army of six thousand men, which advanced but
slowly to the field of action in the south, where the troops of the late
brigadier had joined the insurgent forces. This gave time for the
Independents to collect together the various forces of Bustamente
and other chiefs of their way of thinking. Valladolid was compelled to
capitulate for the third or fourth time in twenty years; afterwards
Querétaro, and, finally, Puebla, which, besieged by the troops of
Bravo and Herrera, surrendered to Yturbide, who made a triumphal
entry into the city on the 2d of August, 1821. This was the first of
the sieges which the City of the Angels has sustained, its position
with regard to the capital exposing it to every ill wind that blows in
that direction.
The viceroy, Apodaca, hearing of the rapid triumphs of the
insurgents, adopted defensive measures. He established a
permanent Junta of war, stopped the liberty of the press, and
decreed the enforced enlistment of all men between sixteen and
sixty. But desertions were constant, the public spirit was aroused
against government, and except that the pure Spaniards were in
favor of it, all social classes were decided to overthrow the old
regime. Even the garrison of Mexico, losing faith in the viceroy,
conspired against him. A meeting inspired by these discontented
troops invaded the viceregal palace, and informed Apodaca that his
charge was at an end. Francisco Novella, sub-inspector of artillery,
was hastily set up into his place; the deposed viceroy left the capital
next day with his family, and returned, with such haste as they could
bring to pass, to Spain.
The sub-inspector of artillery went to bed in the palace of the royal
viceroy; when he rose the next morning he found little or nothing to
do. Like his deposed predecessor, he went on dictating measures,
which nobody noticed, to check the revolution; but this had
advanced too far for sub-inspectors to lay hands upon.
Not only the old insurgents came to the front, but the greater part of
the chiefs of the royalists, Spanish as well as Mexican, declared for
independence, Santa Anna, at Vera Cruz, among others. Yturbide
placed himself at the head of all, and with such resources the
campaign was swift and successful. Thus passed the month of July.
On the 30th arrived at Vera Cruz a new viceroy, sent in advance,
before insurrection was dreamed of at home, to replace Apodaca,
the last governor ever sent from Spain, Juan O'Donojú, sixty-fourth
viceroy since the coming of Mendoza.
He disembarked, took the oath of office before the governor of Vera
Cruz, and assumed the position of governor and captain-general.
Yturbide hastened to meet him at Cordova on his way to the capital,
and convinced him by the eloquence of his arguments and the proof
of his power, visible in the ample number of troops within his
control, that discretion was the better part of valor. The Treaty of
Cordova, then and there settled between these two men, declared
the independence of Mexico, with Ferdinand VII. or some other for
its independent sovereign, establishing a Junta of government, to
which O'Donojú stipulated to belong, provisional until a king should
be found.
These things settled, Yturbide and O'Donojú, hand in hand, as
Yturbide and Guerrero had come before, approached the capital.
Sub-inspector Novella was summoned outside the city to a
conference, and not unwillingly surrendered his brief authority to the
two harmonious chieftains.
Yturbide paused at Toluca to collect all his forces and to draw in
such Spanish troops as were now ready to accept him. On the 27th
of September, his birthday, he made a triumphal entry into the
capital with the army of the Independents, consisting of some
sixteen thousand men, with sixty-eight pieces of artillery. They were
received with immense enthusiasm, and great demonstrations of
rejoicing signalized the end of Spanish domination, which had lasted
three hundred years.
On the next day, the 28th of September, the provisional Junta met,
and declared itself installed under the presidency of Yturbide. Its
thirty-eight members accepted by oath the Plan of Iguala and the
Treaty of Cordova, and further issued an Act of Independence of the
Mexican Empire, subscribed to by all the Junta. A government was
formed, called the Regency, composed of Don Agustin de Yturbide,
president, and five other members, among them Don Juan
O'Donojú. The latter died the next month, and thus ended his very
brief career in Mexico; his place was taken by the Bishop of Puebla.
Thus was formed, at a stroke, the Mexican Empire, whose wide
territory extended from Guatemala on the south, over lands now
included in Texas, the two Californias, and New Mexico at the north.
Many Spaniards, disgusted with this turn of affairs, returned to
Europe with their families. Others concluded to accept the situation,
and remained to watch the course of events.
The new government set to work in good earnest to strengthen its
foundations and extend its influence. The province of Chiapas, on
the Pacific coast, declared its emancipation from Spain, and of its
own accord withdrew from Guatemala and incorporated itself with
Mexico. It still remains a Mexican state. Guatemala also declared its
wish to join the Mexican Empire, and the Guatemalian
representatives accordingly took their seats in the first Mexican
Congress; but the next year this province concluded to become an
independent nation on its own account, and took itself away from
the empire.
The solemn installation of this second Mexican Congress took place
in February, 1822. Its first act was to interfere with the proceedings
of the Regency. Ill-feeling, produced by want of harmony, increased
daily, forming parties which strongly adhered either to one side or
the other. Of these, the original Independents, and such Spaniards
as sincerely desired the fulfilment of the Plan of Iguala, by which a
Spanish prince was to be chosen their ruler, manifested more and
more their disapproval of the President of the Regency; while the
other party, composed of the army, the clergy, and some Spaniards,
had already accepted the idea of elevating Yturbide to a throne.
A ferment of discordant opinions, conflicting interests, and personal
ambitions arose, in the midst of which came the news, naturally to
be expected, that the Cortés of Spain declared null and void the
Treaty of Cordova, concerted by Yturbide and O'Donojú.
This gave Yturbide his opportunity. On the night of the 18th of May,
a movement was begun by a sergeant of one of the regiments,
echoed immediately by various garrison corps, proclaiming Yturbide
Emperor. The leader modestly referred these applicants to the
decision of Congress, and this body, the next day, with soldiers all
around, in the highest state of impatient excitement, declared, by a
vote of sixty-seven against a minority of fifteen, the Emperor, under
the title of Agustin I.
Thus by rapid steps had Yturbide climbed from the position of a
simple soldier without rank to the throne of the Montezumas. Wholly
different from Morelos, he cannot be called a patriot in the highest
sense. Probably his motive from the very beginning was personal
ambition, in which loyalty to a king or to a cause had no part. He
too, doubtless, had watched the career of Napoleon Bonaparte, at
that time a dangerous light shining in the eyes of all men. Yet it
must not be forgotten that if Yturbide worked for himself, he yet
achieved, at the same time, the independence of his country. His
throne was an unsteady one, but the dais erected for it to rest upon
became the solid platform of liberty.
Agustin I. took the oath of office before the Mexican Congress,
which proceeded to pass decrees establishing the succession to the
throne, the titles and forms of address to be held toward the
members of the imperial family, as well as their endowments,
corresponding to their rank, details which turned out to be of no
permanent value.
On the 21st of July, Yturbide and his wife were anointed and
crowned in the Cathedral, with all the solemnities and forms which
have been observed in Europe on such occasions for centuries.
But the Emperor was not firmly established upon his throne. As soon
as they had recovered from their fright and surprise, many of the
deputies, who had voted unwillingly with the majority, began to
impede the course of Yturbide. All parties who had any reason for
discontent made common cause against the Emperor. Signs of
dissatisfaction reached Yturbide, who invited the struggle by
dissolving Congress. In place of this assembly he established a Junta
more under his own control; and, rid of the troublesome Congress,
proceeded to issue edicts, and make forced loans to carry on his
empire.
Suddenly, on the 6th of December, the Republic was proclaimed at
Vera Cruz. Yturbide happened to be in Puebla at the time. He
hastened to Mexico, and sent a division of troops to Vera Cruz to
defend his title and put down the insurrection.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was at the head of this movement, a
general in the Spanish army, who had lately come into the views of
the revolutionists. At Vera Cruz a plan was formed called the Casa-
Mata, approved of by Bravo, Guerrero, and other generals, which, in
substance, proclaimed the deposition of Yturbide; everywhere it was
accepted by the generals of armies throughout the country, so that,
by the end of a month, Yturbide found himself alone in the city of
Mexico. Unwilling to light the fires of civil war, he acknowledged
himself vanquished, and abdicated, retiring from the capital with his
family. Congress closed in behind him, pronounced the whole
episode of the Empire a work of violence and force, so that the
hereditary succession was null. Yturbide was declared banished from
the country, while, at the same time, a life annuity was voted to him
of $25,000 in recognition of his services to the nation.
Thus disappeared, as suddenly as it had risen, the phantom of a
second Empire in the realm of the Aztecs.
Yturbide left the country with his family upon an English vessel
bound for Leghorn. A few months later he wrote from London to the
home government, warning them of European schemes to restore
Spanish rule in Mexico, and offering his services to his country
should such an attempt be made.
The ruling powers were afraid of a popular revulsion in his favor, and
regarded it as altogether safest to keep him at a distance. The reply
of Congress to this letter was to pass a decree declaring Yturbide a
traitor to his country, as such to be put to death whenever he should
return to Mexico.
 PANORAMA OF PUEBLA.
Wholly in ignorance of this decree, and sanguine of the good effect his letter
might produce, the unsuspecting ex-Emperor did return to Mexico with the
intention of fulfilling his offer of usefulness—it may be in the hope of a return
to favor. On the 14th of July, 1824, Yturbide, with all his family, arrived at the
little port of Soto la Marina in an English sailing-vessel. He was recognized by
the general of the troops of Tamaulipas, the state in which he was, and
disembarked. A few moments afterwards an official presented himself, with
hesitation, saying it was his duty to inform him that he must prepare to die, in
conformity with the decree issued against him in the month of April.
In vain Yturbide protested he was utterly ignorant of the decree. He was
taken to Padilla, where the Congress of the state of Tamaulipas was
summoned to an extraordinary session to deliberate upon his case. A hot
discussion resulted in the decision that Yturbide must be shot, and without
the slightest delay this decree was executed close to the church in the streets
of Padilla.
His last words were: "Mexicans! in the very moment of my execution I
recommend to you the love of our country and devotion to our holy religion,
that thus we shall be led to glory. I die because I came to help you. I die
gladly, because I die among you. I die with honor, not as a traitor. I leave no
stain of treason to my children. No. I am not a traitor!"
It is impossible not to pity the hard fate of Yturbide and his violent death. He
was not a traitor to his country in the worst sense of the term, and deserves
the title less than many another of his contemporaries who have met a milder
judgment. Although he turned the government into an Empire for the sake of
his own personal ambition, he had in his short career as Emperor done it no
harm; on the other hand, he resigned quietly for the sake of peace. Doubtless
a little delay would have averted the tragedy, as those who wished him out of
the way were well aware. His life might have promoted the future welfare of
his country; his death certainly produced no good result. Too many hands
were grasping at the prize he had coveted for his to be missed when it was
forcibly beaten off.
He was personally brave and active, handsome, fond of display, and full of
vanity, which caused him to delight in the splendor of state. He was at the
height of his ambition when he was proclaimed Emperor, the horses taken
from his carriage, and the crowd, drawing him along the streets, shouting
vivas for the new Emperor. He forgot, at a time when it is easiest to forget,
how cheap are such manifestations of enthusiasm from an easily excited and
mobile population. He forgot that as he had conspired against others, others
in their turn not only could, but would, seek to pull him down.
Whatever his faults or failings, it is nevertheless true that his act freed the
country from the control of Spain. This is fully recognized in his birthplace,
Morelia, where the house of his birth bears the inscription:
"LIBERTADOR DE MEXICO."
 XXVIII.
SANTA ANNA.
The story of Mexico becomes so confused after the fall of the Empire of
Agustin I. that it is difficult to understand. "Plans," pronunciamentos,
revolutions, restorations, followed each other in quick succession. Generals,
dictators, presidents, sprang from the soil ready-made, to exercise for a few
days their brief authority, and vanish as quickly.
A few prominent names constantly recur, clinging to the wheel of fortune,
which turned at that time in Mexico with singular swiftness. Each of these
went down one day and the next up. Still with pertinacity they held on, each
rejoicing in his own turn at the top, not only on his own account, but in the
satisfaction of seeing the others beneath him. In their wild merry-go-round
they seem to have lost sight of the value of the position itself, which made the
object of their revolutions. Was it a crown, a dictator's chair, the simple dignity
of a president's wand of office, they heeded little. The thought of establishing
a genuine republic was far enough from anybody's mind in the early days of
the century. To guide us through the puzzling labyrinth at this period in
Mexican affairs, we will follow the thread of one career—the life of a man
who, without the highest characteristics of a real hero, was mixed up in every
event which took place on the plateau of Anahuac, from the beginning of the
struggle to the end.
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was born in Jalapa, Feb. 21, 1798, sixty-six
years to a day after the birth of George Washington, whose footsteps, if he
followed at all, it was in an erring manner. He first made his appearance in
public, as we have seen, fighting in the war of independence; it was he who,
in 1821, expelled the royalists from Vera Cruz, and took possession of the city.
Yturbide thus owed to him, in part, his success, but it was no intention of
Santa Anna's to make an emperor of him, and he applied the same vigor in
pulling him down from the throne, that he had to smooth the way to it. This
effected, he withdrew to his estates in Jalapa, accepting the federal
government decreed by Congress the 4th of October, 1824.
This Constitution, wisely drawn up in accordance with the best models,
provided an excellent system of government, if it could be adhered to. Don
Felix Fernandez Victoria, an army general, called by the people Guadalupe
Victoria, on account of the intervention in his favor against the Spanish, as
they believed, of the patron saint of Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe, assumed
office in 1824, and kept it for two years without any commotion. He is
described by Madame Calderon as a plain, uneducated, well-intentioned man,
brave and enduring. She gives an anecdote to his credit. When Yturbide,
alone, fallen, and a prisoner, was banished from Mexico, General Bravo, who
had the charge of conducting him to Vera Cruz, treated him with every
species of indignity. Victoria, on the other hand, who had been the sworn foe
of the Emperor during his prosperity, now, when orders were given him to see
Yturbide embarked, surrounded him with respectful attentions; so that
Yturbide himself, after expressing his warm esteem for the General's generous
conduct, presented him with his watch, as a memorial of his gratitude.
During his term, the legislature decreed the expulsion of the Spanish from
Mexico. Many military chiefs were violently anxious for this measure, and it
became a law before the end of the year. In consequence of this arbitrary
decision, worthy of an earlier century and of Philip III., who drove out of
Spain the Moriscoes to the lasting injury of the country, many families left
Mexico, taking with them their wealth, and the source of income caused by
their requirements. It is said that a great many Spaniards settled in Bordeaux
which thus increased in size and prosperity. Between two countries, of which
neither claimed them, although to each they had a claim, these exiles are to
be regarded as victims of the injudicious legislation of the first republican
Congress of Mexico.
The close of Victoria's term was disturbed by one or two conspiracies, civil
wars, pronunciamentos, and "Plans." The presidential election of 1828 was
marked by formidable divisions. The extreme liberals and the conservatives
formed two great political powers, which, with others representing every
shade of possible opinion, kept the country in a state of disturbance. The
unfortunate precedent of appealing to arms after an election, instead of
submitting to the result of the ballot, became so established that the elections
were little more than a farce. Pedraza, the conservative candidate, was
chosen against Guerrero, liberal, by a majority of two. Santa Anna upon this
pronounced in Perote, declaring the election of Guerrero valid. Attacked by
the troops of the regular army, if such it may be called, he entrenched himself
in Oaxaca, in the Convent of St. Domingo, where he defended himself with
the greatest bravery and ingenuity, until events made it useless to contest him
any longer, and he was released.
A mutiny broke out in the capital, Pedraza fled to Vera Cruz and thence to
New Orleans; flames burst forth all over the city, threatening its destruction,
while the populace ran about crying "Viva la Libertad!" The Parian, where
great wealth of gold, jewels, and rich stuff were stored, was utterly destroyed.
From December 3d for several days the town was given over to pillage, the
doors of the warehouses were driven in, and every thing seized. The greatest
confusion, anarchy in fact, reigned in the capital, beyond any effort on the
part of the revolutionary leaders to restrain the disorder. For more than a
month afterward stolen goods from the Parian were openly sold in the public
squares. The desolation of the city on the night after the first outburst is
described by one of the principal actors. The sack, which had begun in the
morning of the 3d, had ceased for the night. Sepulchral silence reigned in the
vast city. In the palace was General Victoria, alone, abandoned even by his
servants. The shops and warehouses stood open and empty, with shattered
doors, their contents carried off and strewn about the streets. Not a voice was
to be heard but the sound of the hour announced by the sereno, from time to
time breaking the silence which had fallen upon the inhabitants of the capital.
Thus closed the year 1828, and the government of the first President. During
his term Texas was colonized by Austin, with three hundred families, an event
to be remembered on account of its connection with the war of the United
States. In the same year the government of the United States recognized the
independence of Mexico.
Manuel Gomez Pedraza, by virtue of his majority of two, assumed the office of
President. As an officer in the Spanish army he was distinguished for his
severe discipline and strict moral conduct. He had supported Yturbide, who
made him Commander-General of Mexico. He was Minister of War under
Victoria, in which office he was distinguished for his great activity.
The ferment which succeeded the election was increased by the reports of
Santa Anna's conduct at Oaxaca. The army besieging him melted and ran off.
Both Pedraza and Guerrero disappeared.
Pedraza left the Republic. After another revolution, hearing that "the
Constitution and laws were established," he returned to Vera Cruz, but was
met by an order which forbade him to enter the country, and he withdrew to
New Orleans, to bide his time, while Congress declared in favor of Guerrero,
who ventured to return and try his hand as President.
Santa Anna distinguished himself by resisting the troops sent by Spain,
somewhat late, after the mañana methods of both countries, to resent the
secession of their dependent colony. A Spanish force from Cuba, by royal
mandate of King Ferdinand, landed at Tampico. This invasion aroused the
patriotism of the country. Santa Anna, without waiting for any orders, fitted
out a force in Vera Cruz and advanced against the invaders, combining on his
way with the troops of government. Their action was vigorous, and the
Spanish commander, Barradas, capitulated after two days, and returned to
Cuba with what was left of his army. This was the only attempt made by
Spain to win back her lost province. The wealth which Cortés had poured into
her coffers had long ceased to flow with regularity, and its source was now
shut off from her.
In reward for this good service, Santa Anna was made Minister of War and
Commander-in-Chief by President Guerrero, but instead of being grateful, he
turned his powers against him, and with the army overthrew his government
and put Bustamente in his place. This general was already Vice-President; he
and Santa Anna pronounced the Plan of Jalapa, at that place. Guerrero set
out at the head of a few troops, but scarcely had he left the city when the
garrison there pronounced in favor of one Bocanegro. Between two
pronunciamentos, Guerrero once more withdrew to the mountains of the
south, where he took arms against his enemies, and Bustamente became
President. It was under his government that a disgraceful method was taken
to get rid of Guerrero. Persuaded that they could not conquer him in open
field, the ruling party bribed a Genoese sailor to decoy Guerrero on board his
little bark, Colombo, in the bay of Acapulco. The General was invited to dinner
as a guest, and accepted in good faith. No sooner was the meal over than he
was told of the plot. Without power to resist, he saw the sails set, and was
carried forcibly to the little bark, on which he was forcibly detained, heading
towards another port, where he was handed over to his enemies. A few
officials went through the form of a military trial and condemned him to
death. He was shot, in the pueblo of Cuilapa, on the 15th of February, 1831.
Guerrero is regarded as one of the martyrs of the country, and two
monuments in his honor adorn the city of Mexico.
Bustamente did not long enjoy his repose. Santa Anna pronounced again in
favor of his former opponent, Pedraza, who, in the opinion of many, had never
stopped being President. But early in 1833 our Mexican Warwick, yielding to
popular pressure, consented to be President himself. He now left the radical
party and, like many another reformer in office, became conservative and
joined the Centralists. He was a favorite with the army, who after a time made
him Dictator, in spite of the distrust of the nation, who believed that he aimed
at imperial dignities.
The Vice-President at this time was Valentin Gomez Farías, whose merits
deserve notice. He was a native of Guadalajara, born in February, 1781. He
studied medicine, and made good advances in the scientific discoveries of his
time. He was appointed to the Cortés of Spain; but organized instead a
battalion in aid of Hidalgo in the cause of independence, sacrificing to it his
career and his personal fortune. He was elected deputy to the Congress of
Morelos, and afterwards made governor of the state of Zacatecas. In 1833 he
was chosen Vice-President, and, events afterwards bringing him to occupy the
first place in the government, he displayed great capacity for business and the
cares of office, repressing pronunciamentos, unmasking intrigues, and
preserving always an honorable reputation. Forced to abandon the presidency,
he escaped to the United States to avoid assassination, selling his ample
library to raise funds, thus leaving Santa Anna in full possession of the field.
The Federal Constitution was done away with, state legislatures abolished,
and the governors of the states became dependent upon central power.
The insurrection in Texas now broke out into open rebellion. Santa Anna took
the field in person, reaching the Rio Grande del Norte with an army of six
thousand men in February, 1836. He at first was successful, but after one or
two triumphs his army was completely routed, and he himself made prisoner
by the Texan army under Houston. Santa Anna was taken to the United States
by his conquerors. During his captivity he made a treaty with the Texans,
which amounted to nothing at all, as his functions were suspended by the
Mexican government. The next year he was set at liberty and returned to his
native country. He was coldly received, and at the presidential election that
year received only two electoral votes out of sixty-nine.
He again retired to his estate near Jalapa, twenty-seven miles from Vera Cruz;
and, we may suppose, contemplated with content a period of repose after
action, and an opportunity to renew the acquaintance of his family, from
which a life of such variety had separated him.
 XXIX.
STILL SANTA ANNA.
The Bourbons had regained possession of the government of France, and
Louis Philippe, under the title of King of the French, was upon the throne. He
was the head of the younger branch of the Bourbons, Duke of Orleans.
Military glory was a requisite to his security upon the throne; among other
enterprises the government sent an expedition to Mexico to settle by force a
long-pending discussion of demands due them since their civil wars, as
damages incurred by French citizens. One of the items of this claim was sixty
thousand dollars demanded by a French cook for pastry stolen from him by
revolutionists. The claim received the name of the reclamacion de los
pasteles, a claim for pie. It was denied in toto by the Mexican government.
The French squadron, commanded by the Prince de Joinville, captured the
fortress of San Juan de Ulóa, and occupied Vera Cruz on the 5th of December.
Out came Santa Anna and offered his services, and taking command after the
fall of the castle, he repelled the French from the city and forced them to
return to their ships. In this encounter he received a wound in the leg, which
made it necessary to amputate it, and afterwards he always wore a wooden
leg. Mexico in the end consented to make a treaty of peace by paying the
sum demanded,—and the French fleet sailed away.
Madame Calderon describes the home of Santa Anna at Manga la Clava,
twenty-seven miles from Vera Cruz, approached through a wilderness of trees
and flowers, the growth of the tierra caliente, and passing over leagues of
natural garden, the property of Santa Anna.
The house was pretty and in nice order. General Santa Anna was a
gentlemanly, good-looking, quietly dressed, rather melancholy-looking person,
with a wooden leg. Knowing nothing of his past history, he might have been
thought a philosopher, living in dignified retirement, one who had tried the
world and found it all vanity, one who had suffered ingratitude, and who, if he
were ever persuaded to emerge from his retreat, would only do so, like
Cincinnatus, for the benefit of his country.
It was only now and then in conversation that the expression of his eye was
startling, especially when he spoke of his leg, which was cut off below the
knee. He gave an account of the wound, and in alluding to the French his
countenance assumed an alarming appearance of bitterness.

INDIAN HUT IN THE TIERRA CALIENTE.

In 1837 Bustamente was recalled. On the succession of Pedraza to the
presidency, he had been banished, and went away to pursue his medical
studies in France; for he, like Farías, had received a diploma as doctor of
medicine, and had been the family physician of the viceroy Calleja. He
returned to Mexico on the outbreak of the Texan revolution, was made
President, and filled the office with dignity and respectability, whenever he
was allowed to, by his untiring enemy, or rival, Santa Anna, who, however,
was sometimes on his side. In 1840 there was trouble again, with Santa Anna
at the head of the government forces. Against him was arrayed General Mejia,
a Mexican known for his valor, which amounted to rashness. He was a rival
and personal enemy to Santa Anna, and the struggle between them was a
duel à la mort. Fate was against Mejia and he perished. Taken prisoner on the
field of battle at the hacienda La Blanca, he was shot. It is said that, being
informed of the sentence of death passed upon him, he asked when he was
to be shot.
"In three hours," answered the official.
"If Santa Anna had fallen into my power, I should have given him only three
minutes," was his reply.
There have been other generals of the same name and family who have
shown equal bravery in death.
In September, 1841, occurred another brief revolution, so fully described by
Madame Calderon, that it may serve as a specimen. She says:
"This revolution is like a game of chess, in which kings, castles, knights, and
bishops are making different moves, while the pawns are looking on and
taking no part whatever.
"To understand the state of the board, it is necessary to explain the position
of the four principal pieces,—Santa Anna, Bustamente, Paredes, and Valencia.
The first move was made by Paredes, who published his 'Plan,' and
pronounced on the 8th of August, at Guadalajara. Shortly after a newspaper
of Vera Cruz, entirely devoted to Santa Anna, pronounced in favor of the 'Plan'
of Paredes, and Santa Anna, with a few miserable troops, and a handful of
cavalry, arrived at Perote. Here he remains for the present, kept in check by
the government forces. Meanwhile Paredes, with about six hundred men, left
Guadalajara and marched upon Guanajuato, and there a blow was given to
the government party through the defection of General Cortazar, who thought
fit thus to show his grateful sense of having just received the rank of general
of brigade, with the insignia of this new grade, which the President put on
with his own hands. Another check to the President. Once begun, defection
spread rapidly, and Paredes and Cortazar, having advanced upon Querétaro,
found that the General there had pronounced just at the moment he was
expected in Mexico to assist the government.
"Meanwhile General Valencia, pressed to declare his 'Plan,' has replied that he
awaits the announcement of the intention of the Generals Paredes and Santa
Anna, and for his own part he only desires the dismissal of Bustamente.
"This, then, is the position of the three pronounced chiefs, on this second day
of September of the year of our Lord, 1841: Santa Anna in Perote, hesitating
whether to advance or retreat, and in fact prevented from doing either;
Paredes in Querétaro, with the other revolted generals; Valencia in the citadel
of Mexico with his pronunciados; while Bustamente, the mark against which
all these hostile operations are directed, is determined, it is said, to fight to
the last.
"Mexico looks as if it had got a general holiday. Shops shut up and all
business at a stand. The people with the utmost apathy are collected in
groups talking quietly; officers are galloping about, generals in a somewhat
party-colored dress, with large gray hats (sombreros), striped pantaloons, old
coats, and generals' belts, fine horses, and crimson velvet saddles. The
shopkeepers in the square have been removing their goods and money. An
occasional shot is heard, sometimes a volley, followed by a dead silence. The
archbishop shows his reverend face now and then upon the balcony of his
palace, looks out a little while, and then retires. The chief effect so far is
universal idleness for man and beast, the soldiers and their quadrupeds
excepted.
"It is said that the Federalists are very much elated, hoping for the eventual
triumph of their party in consequence of a proclamation by Valencia which
appeared two days ago. Since then the revolution has taken the name of
liberal and is supported by men of name, the Pedrazas, Belderas, Riva Palacio,
which is of great importance to Valencia. Besides this it is said that certain
rich bankers, on the side of the pronunciados are constantly supplying the
citadel with cart-loads of copper.
"The conduct of the people is a constant source of surprise. Left entirely
uncurbed, no one to direct them, thousands out of employment, many
without bread, they do not complain, and scarcely seem to feel any interest in
the result. How easily might such a people be directed for their good! It is
said that all their apathetic sympathies are in favor of Bustamente."
Several days later she describes the army of the pronunciados on their way to
the capital: "The infantry, it must be confessed, was in a ragged and rather
drunken condition; the cavalry, better clad, have borrowed fresh horses as
they went along, which, with their high saddles, bronzed faces, and
picturesque attire, had a fine effect as they passed along under the burning
sun. The sick followed on asses, and amongst them various masculine
women, with serapes and large straw hats, tied down with colored
handkerchiefs, mounted on mules or horses. The sumpter-mules followed,
carrying provisions, camp-beds, etc., and Indian women trotted on foot in the
rear, carrying their husbands' boots and clothes. The game is nearly up now.
Check from two knights and a castle—Santa Anna and Paredes in Tacubaya,
and Valencia in the citadel.
"The end of this, after some little firing on both sides, was a capitulation.
Bustamente renounced the presidency, and Santa Anna was triumphant. He
made his solemn entry into the capital, with the Generals Valencia and
Canalizo at the head of the forces. Not a solitary viva was heard as they
passed along the streets, nor afterwards, during his speech in Congress.
Immediately after the ceremony Santa Anna retired to the archbishop's
palace, in Tacubaya, in a splendid coach, drawn by four beautiful white
horses, a retinue of other carriages, brilliant aides-de-camp, and an immense
escort of cavalry.
"Thus ended the revolution of 1841: but no one felt that its results were going
to be permanent.
"On the 4th of November a great function was given in the opera of the
capital in honor of his Excellency. The theatre was brilliantly illuminated with
wax lights. Two principal boxes were thrown into one for the President and his
suite, and lined with crimson and gold, with draperies of the same. The
staircase leading to the box was lighted by rows of footmen all the way up, in
crimson and gold livery. A crowd of gentlemen stood waiting in the lobby for
the arrival of the hero of the fête. He came at last, in regal state, carriages
and outriders at full gallop, himself, staff, and suite in splendid uniforms. As
he entered, the libretto of the opera was presented to him, bound in red and
gold. His expression was resigned and rather melancholy, his manner grave
but agreeable; surrounded by pompous officers, he alone looked quiet,
gentlemanly, and high-bred.
"The theatre was crowded to suffocation—boxes, pit, and galleries. There was
no applause as he entered. One solitary voice in the pit said: 'Viva Santa
Anna!' but it seemed checked by a slight movement of disapprobation,
scarcely amounting to a murmur.
"The generals, in their scarlet and gold uniforms, sat, like peacocks,
surrounding Santa Anna, who looked modest and retiring, as if quite
unaccustomed to public gaze."
General Bustamente, as usual, resigned his power to Santa Anna without
further struggle, and withdrew to Europe, where he remained several years.
After the fall of Santa Anna in 1845, he returned to his country, establishing
his residence in the interior. He died a natural death in San Miguel de Allende
in 1853.
We will leave Santa Anna in his opera-box, surrounded by brilliant officers and
fair ladies sparkling with diamonds until the time comes to take up his story
again.
CATHEDRAL—CITY OF MEXICO.
 XXX.
SOCIETY.
A clear picture of the state of society in Mexico, at this period is given in the
journal, before quoted, of Madame Calderon de la Barca, published without
her name in 1843, with a preface by Prescott, the historian.
For some time after the violent separation of the colony from the mother
country, Spain made no effort to recognize her truant, grown-up Mexico. It
was not until 1839 that its independence was finally acknowledged, and its
right to be regarded as a friendly state, by Spain. In that year Señor Don
Calderon de la Barca was sent by Ferdinand VII. as accredited Ambassador to
the Republic of Mexico where Bustamente was then President. The occasion
was hailed with satisfaction by all parties as a signal of peace between the
two countries; the remaining Mexicans of Spanish blood especially hailed the
arrival of such an agreeable accession to society as Madame Calderon, a very
accomplished woman, whose lively letters, not at all intended for publication,
give an account of Mexican scenery and manners, useful to help us in our
knowledge of them at that time, a sort of interregnum between the old
Spanish influences and the present full-fledged condition of the Republic. Civil
war had already much disturbed the old Spanish landmarks, but much
remained of the customs of provincial society, especially among the higher
class in the capital. Balls, receptions, the opera, were kept up with something
of the splendor of viceregal days, their revival stimulated by this fresh arrival
from a European court.
Madame Calderon loved to wander under the cypresses of Chapultepec. In
her day the viceregal apartments were lonely and abandoned, for the
governor, in whose hands they then were, did not care to live there. The walls
were falling to ruin, the glass of the windows and the carved work of the
doors had been sold, so that the interior was exposed to every wind that blew
around the lofty height.
She describes the gayety of the Paséo, a long, broad avenue planted with
trees, with a large stone fountain, whose sparkling waters were cool and
pleasant, ornamented by a gilt statue of Victory. Here, every evening, but
more especially Sundays and fête days, were to be seen two long rows of
carriages filled with ladies, crowds of gentlemen on horseback riding down the
middle between them, soldiers at intervals keeping order, and multitudes of
common people and beggars on foot. The carriages were for the most part
extremely handsome—European coaches with fine horses and odd liveries,
others in the old Mexican fashion, heavy and covered with gilding. Hackney-
coaches drawn by mules were seen among the finer equipages. Most families
had both horses and mules in their stables, the latter animal requiring less
care than a horse, and capable of enduring more fatigue. Carratelas, open at
the sides, with glass windows, were filled with ladies in full toilet, without
mantillas, their heads uncovered and generally coiffées with flowers as jewels.
Equestrians, on fine horses and handsome Mexican asses, passed and
repassed the carriages without stopping for conversation. Her favorite
promenade was the Viga, where, as in Montezuma's time and long before, in
Humboldt's, in our own, the Indians, early in the morning, brought flowers
and vegetables to market by the canal. There was profusion of sweet peas,
double poppies, blue-bottles, stock gilly-flowers and roses. Each Indian
woman in her canoa looked as if seated in a floating flower-garden, crowned
with garlands of roses or poppies. "Those who sit in the market," she says,
"selling their fruit or vegetables, appear as if in bowers formed of fresh green
branches and many-colored flowers. In the poorest village church the floor is
strewed with flowers, and with flowers are adorned the baby at its
christening, the bride at the altar, the dead body upon the bier."
In answer to questions about the society women of Mexico, Madame Calderon
writes: "I must put aside exceptions, which are always rising up before me,
and write en masse. Generally speaking, the Mexican señoras and señoritas
write, read, and play a little; sew, and take care of their houses and children.
When I say they read, I mean they know how to read; when I say they write,
I do not mean that they can always spell, and when I say they play, I do not
assert that they have a general knowledge of music. The climate inclines
every one to indolence, both physical and moral. One cannot pore over a book
when the blue sky is constantly smiling in at the open windows." She says
that there are no women in the world more affectionate in their manners than
the Mexicans, and that they invariably make excellent wives, if they are
settled at home with their husbands.
 THE VIGA.
Madame Calderon describes the appearance of the Plaza on Good-Friday:
"The most beautiful and original scene was presented towards sunset in the
great square, and it is doubtful whether any other city in the world could
present a coup d'œil of equal brilliancy. The Plaza itself, even on ordinary
days, is a noble square, and but for its one fault, a row of shops called the
Parian, which breaks its uniformity, would be nearly unrivalled. Every object is
interesting. The eye wanders from the Cathedral to the house of Cortés (the
Monte de Piedad), and from thence to a range of fine buildings, with lofty
arcades to the west. From a balcony we could see all the different streets that
branch out from the square covered with gay crowds pouring in that direction
to see a great procession which was expected to pass in front of the palace.
Booths, filled with refreshments and covered with green branches and
garlands of flowers, were to be seen in all directions, surrounded by a crowd
quenching their thirst with orgeat, lemonade, or pulque. The whole square,
from the Cathedral to the portales, was covered with thousands and tens of
thousands of figures, all in their gayest dresses, and as the sun poured his
rays down upon their gaudy colors, they looked like armies of living tulips.
Here was to be seen a group of ladies, some with black gowns and mantillas,
others, now that their church-going duty was over, equipped in velvet or satin,
with their hair dressed—and beautiful hair they have; some leading their
children by the hand, dressed—alas, how they were dressed! Long, velvet
gowns trimmed with blonde, diamond ear-rings, high French caps
befurbelowed with lace and flowers, or turbans with plumes of feathers. Now
and then, the head of a little thing that could hardly waddle alone, might have
belonged to an English dowager-duchess in her opera-box. Some had
extraordinary bonnets, and as they toddled along, top-heavy, one would have
thought they were little old women, without a glimpse caught of their lovely
little brown faces and blue eyes. The children here are very beautiful; they
have little color, with swimming black or hazel eyes, and long lashes resting
on the clear pale cheek, and a mass of fine dark hair plaited down behind.
"As a contrast to the señoras, with their over-dressed beauties, were the poor
Indian women, trotting across the square, their black hair plaited with dirty
red ribbon, a piece of woollen cloth wrapped round them, and a little
mahogany baby hanging behind, its face upturned to the sky, and its head
jerking along, somehow, without its neck being dislocated. The most resigned
expression on earth is that of an Indian baby. All these groups are collected
by hundreds, the women of the shop-keeper class in their small white
embroidered gowns, with white satin shoes and neat feet and ankles,
rebozos, or bright shawls, thrown over their heads; the peasants and
countrywomen, with short petticoats of two colors, generally scarlet and
yellow, thin satin shoes and lace-trimmed chemises, or bronze-colored
damsels, all crowned with flowers, strolling along, tingling light guitars.
"Add to this motley crowd, men dressed à la Mexicaine, with large
ornamented hats and serapes, or embroidered jackets, sauntering along,
smoking their cigars; léperos, in rags, Indians in blankets, officers in uniform,
priests in their shovel hats, monks of every order; Frenchmen exercising their
wit upon the passers-by; Englishmen looking on, cold and philosophical;
Germans gazing through their spectacles, mild and mystical; Spaniards,
seeming pretty much at home, abstaining from remarks; and it may be
conceived that the scene, at least, presents variety.
"Suddenly the tinkling of a bell announces the approach of Nuestro Amo (the
Host). Instantly the whole crowd are on their knees, crossing themselves
devoutly. Disputes are hushed, flirtations arrested, and to the busy hum of
voices succeeds a profound silence, filled only by the rolling of coach-wheels
and the sound of the little bell."
This scene is almost the same to-day in the public square on Good-Friday. The
costumes of the higher class have now surrendered to conventional Paris
models, but there is a tendency to gaudiness and display, defying fashion,
which makes a Mexican crowd bright with variegated color.
Madame Calderon's accounts of the unsettled state of the country are
comforting, as showing the immense advance in this respect, in the forty
years since she was in Mexico.
Describing an hacienda not far from the capital, she says: "It is under the
charge of an administrador, who receives from its owner a large annual sum,
and whose place is by no means a sinecure, as he lives in perpetual danger
from robbers. He is captain of a troop of soldiers, and as his life has been
spent in persecuting robbers, he is an object of intense hatred to that free
and independent body. He gave us a terrible account of night attacks from
these men and of his ineffectual attempts to bring them to justice. He lately
told the President that he thought of joining the robbers himself, as they were
the only persons in the Republic protected by government."
"This pestilence of robbers," she says, "which infests the Republic, has never
been eradicated. They are, in fact, the outgrowth of the civil war. Sometimes,
in the guise of insurgents, taking an active part in the independence, they
have independently laid waste the country, robbing all they met. As expellers
of the Spaniards, these armed bands infested the roads between Vera Cruz
and the capital, ruined all commerce, and without any particular inquiry into
political opinions, robbed and murdered in all directions. Whatever measures
have been from time to time taken to eradicate this evil, its causes remain,
and the idle and unprincipled will always take advantage of the disorganized
state of the country to obtain by force what they might gain by honest labor."
Frequent crosses by the roadside were marks of murders committed by these
highwaymen, yet the Mexican robbers had the reputation of being kind and
considerate bandits. She relates, as a proof of their occasional moderation,
that some ladies "were travelling from Mexico with a padre, when they were
met by a party of robbers, who stopped the coach, and seized every thing,
amongst other articles of value, a number of silver dishes. The padre
observed to them that as the plate did not belong to the ladies, but was lent
them by a friend, they would be obliged to replace it, and requested that one
might be left as a pattern. The reasonable creatures instantly returned one
dish and a cover.
"Another time, having completely stripped an English gentleman and his
servant, and tied them both to a tree, observing that the man appeared
distressed at the loss of his master's shoes, they politely returned and laid the
shoes beside the gentleman."
This drawback to Mexican travel, the terrible bug-bear which still deters many
timid people from venturing themselves in the country, has ceased to exist
since the establishment of real law and order in the Republic, and especially
since railroads have penetrated all the important parts of the country. The
Guardias Rurales, a mounted troop of patrols, is now one of the finest military
organizations in the world. It is said that General Diaz sent for the chiefs of
brigandage, notorious leaders of pillaging bands, and after inquiring how
much they earned on an average by their profession, asked them if they had
any objection to receiving that sum honestly, in a settled income. The result
was the organization, out of this material, of a body of guards to protect the
rural districts. They are stalwart men, with splendid leather suits and gray
sombreros, all ornamented with silver. Their horses are beautiful animals, all
of the same color in one band, handsomely caparisoned. The men ride well,
and the effect of this strong body, united in the defence of order, instead of
lurking apart in defiance of it, is in the highest degree reassuring. The result is
satisfactory. Tales of highway robbery are relegated to the same shadowy
region as the legends of Aztec atrocities. In the northern, desolate regions of
Mexico, murders and robberies are still perpetrated. It is often the case that
these are committed by other races than Mexicans, and very seldom, in
proportion, can they be charged upon Indians.
Elsewhere is quoted Madame Calderon's observation of a pronunciamento.
The following note has an importance further on in our story, of which she
was at the time unconscious:
"The whole world is talking of a pamphlet written by Señor Gutierrez Estrada,
which has just appeared, and seems likely to create a greater sensation in
Mexico than the discovery of the gunpowder plot in England. Its sum and
substance is the proposal of a constitutional monarchy in Mexico, with a
foreign prince (not named) at its head, as the only remedy for the evils by
which it is afflicted. The pamphlet is written merely in a speculative form,
inculcating no sanguinary measures, or sudden revolution; but the
consequences are likely to be most disastrous to the fearless and public-
spirited author."
 XXXI.
RUMORS OF WAR.
We now come to the disastrous period of the war with the United States.
Nothing more unfortunate could have befallen the struggling Republic of
Mexico than to become involved in a foreign quarrel.
For three centuries the country had been under the hands of the Spanish
government which though arbitrary, oppressive, and sometimes tyrannical,
was in general firm and equable, and above all, safe. Laws, such as they
were, were enforced. Personal property, perhaps ill-gotten, was respected. In
spite of plenty of abuses and defects, the daily life of the inhabitants of
Anahuac under the viceroys was comfortable and secure.
Suddenly, imbued with the ideas of the centuries, the Mexicans began to play
at independence, like children lighting matches. At the instigation of a few
leaders, some of them it is true with high aims, actuated by the desire of
doing good for their country, they drove away their viceroys, rejected the
strong arm of the Spanish authority, and undertook the difficult task of
governing themselves. The trouble was, not one of them understood the
rudiments of the art. There were plenty of applicants for the highest post of
office. Many were tried, but all were found wanting. Some gave it up
themselves; others returned again and again to the futile task of making
stable the shifting sands of popular opinion.
The only appeal was to arms. Blood was shed, powder and ball were spent,
and a crop of military heroes sprung up, full of ardor, ready to pronounce at
the slightest occasion, and bring an army to the field at a moment's notice.
The sound of rolling cannon was familiar to every ear in Mexico. The smell of
powder had nothing alarming about it. The very children were satiated with
the sight of soldiery, and scarcely troubled themselves to run to the door to
see a regiment go by.
But this was not warfare, real and serious. These armies were not thoroughly
trained to the discipline of battle, and the generals were not educated in the
science of war. Brave they undoubtedly were, and familiar with scenes of
danger and bloodshed; too familiar, it may be, to value at its proper cost the
waste of life and property caused by so much fighting. Exaggerated ideas of
honor and glory, inherent to the Latin race, pervaded society, and the
impression prevailed throughout the country that the Mexican arms were
invincible, because every regiment and every general had, in turn, put to rout
every other in the country.

VALLEY OF MEXICO
In this game of independence, the Mexican peoples had exhausted their
resources, destroyed in a great measure the industries of the country, spent
their money, and wasted rivers of blood. Many of their best generals were
either driven from the country, or dead upon the field. They might have gone
on, it is true, pronouncing and killing each other indefinitely, but for the sharp
lesson that was taught them by the cruel exigencies of a foreign war.
That some lesson should come was perhaps inevitable, like a quick, sharp box
on the ears, to bring such naughty children to their senses, and stop their
foolish trifling with life and reputation. But it was hard that the blow should
come from the hand of a nation which ought to have taken the place of an
elder brother to these foolish and heedless children,—a hand which should
have gently led them to peace and reconciliation instead of promoting discord.
The Mexicans, undoubtedly, helped to bring upon themselves the misfortunes
that came swiftly upon them. Like all people whose own folly has put them on
the wrong track, they were sure to do the wrong thing. They were heavily
punished accordingly.
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