CHAPTER XXIII. INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT DIAZ; HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND HISTORY.--A CHECKERED CAREER.--SAVED FROM THE SEA.--THE FAITHFUL PURSER AND HIS REWARD.--CHARACTERISTICS OF DIAZ'S ADMINISTRATION.--MADAME DIAZ.--A DIPLOMATIC MARRIAGE.--THE ARMY AND NAVY OF MEXICO.--THE POSTAL SERVICE.--NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS.--PRINCIPAL WRITERS OF FICTION.--FROM MEXICO TO PUEBLA.--HOW THE MEXICAN RAILWAY WAS BUILT.--DIFFICULTIES OF ENGINEERING.--APIZACO.--THE CITY OF THE ANGELS; ITS CATHEDRAL AND OTHER CURIOSITIES.--MANUFACTURES OF PUEBLA.--BATTLE-FIELD OF CINCO DE MAYO .

It was a fortunate thing for the youths that they did not remain another day at the cattle-hacienda of SeÑor Sanchez. After listening to a short account of what they had seen, Doctor Bronson told them that he had a pleasurable surprise in store for the next day.

"If it's a surprise," said Frank, "I suppose we must wait and ask no questions."

"There's no occasion for secrecy," responded the Doctor. "The American Minister has arranged for me to have an interview to-morrow with the President of the Republic, and you can accompany me."

"That is a pleasurable surprise, indeed," said Frank, and Fred promptly expressed a similar opinion.

"I am to go to the legation at eleven o'clock," continued Doctor Bronson, "and meet the Minister, who is to present me to the President. The interview is fixed for half-past eleven at the National Palace."

It is unnecessary to add that Frank and Fred were ready at the appointed time, and that a carriage left the door of the hotel early enough to deposit the trio at the door of the legation a few minutes before eleven. The arrival at the palace was duly arranged, and the party was in the anteroom of the President when an official came to call them to an audience with the President.

The time of the chief of a nation is valuable, and the interview was over in about twenty minutes. There was nothing official about it, and the visitors came away much pleased with the way they had been received. The conversation ran upon general topics; it related chiefly to what the strangers had seen during their visit to the country, and some pleasant allusions on the part of the President to the United States and a few of its public men. He did not follow the customary form of politeness by saying that his house and all it contained were theirs, but as they rose to leave he shook hands with them cordially, and said that if he could be of any service during the rest of their stay, he hoped they would not hesitate to apply to him through his and their friend, the American Minister.

"A more courteous gentleman than President Diaz," wrote Frank, "it would be difficult to find, and I believe this is the testimony of his opponents as well as of his friends. Perhaps you would like to know something about his history; well, here it is:

"Porfirio Diaz was born in August, 1830, in Oajaca, and was educated there. He began the study of law, but in the war between the United States and Mexico he entered the army and fought in defence of his country. He remained in the army and studied military science for several years, when he went back to law again, on account of the triumph of the party that gave the Dictatorship of Mexico to Santa Anna. He fought in the revolution that drove Santa Anna away in 1855, and a few years later he joined the Liberal party in the War of the Reform. He continued with the Liberals during the French occupation; at the capture of Puebla by the French, in 1863, he was made prisoner, but escaped. He was then given the command of the Liberal army, but accepted it on the condition that he should soon be replaced, as he was afraid that his youth might cause the older generals to be jealous of him.

"He fought all through the war under great discouragements, was captured a second time, and a second time escaped. After the retirement of the French from Mexico, in 1867, he rapidly increased his army, and besieged and captured Puebla; then he laid siege to the city of Mexico at the same time that Maximilian was being besieged by another part of the Liberal army at Queretaro. In the following autumn he was a candidate for the Presidency, but was defeated by Juarez; then he laid plans for a revolution, but was unsuccessful and obliged to flee from the country. He went to New Orleans, and after a time was permitted to return; then he was concerned in another revolution, and went again into exile, whence he was called back by his friends in Oajaca, who had revolted against the Government.

"In his return he ran a great risk, as he was obliged to come to Mexico by way of Vera Cruz. He took passage under an assumed name, and remained in his room on the steamer under pretence of being sea-sick. When the steamer was leaving Tampico he suspected that his identity had been discovered by the officers of a Mexican regiment, which had been taken on board at that port. Discovery and arrest meant execution, and he jumped overboard and endeavored to swim to the shore, which was about ten miles away. The captain thought he was a lunatic, and sent a boat after him; he fought against being rescued, but was taken into the boat and returned to the ship. The purser took charge of him, and Diaz immediately told who he was, and asked for protection.

"The purser promised it. The colonel of the regiment suspected that Diaz was on board, and in the hearing of the latter offered $50,000 for information that would lead to his capture. Diaz tells how his heart sank when he heard the offer, and how it beat with satisfaction when the purser replied that he knew nothing about the insurgent leader.

"The purser smuggled him on shore disguised as a coal-heaver, and Diaz reached Oajaca in safety. After his elevation to the Presidency one of the first things he did was to appoint that purser a consul to represent Mexico at a French seaport, and afterwards gave him the consulship at San Francisco.

"The Oajaca revolution was successful; Lerdo, who was then (1876) President, was driven out of the country, and there was a very disturbed state of affairs for a time. It ended in the election of Diaz as President; he held the office from May, 1877, till November, 1880, when he was succeeded by President Gonzales, the Constitution then in force, and originally proposed by Diaz, forbidding the President to succeed himself. He succeeded Gonzales in 1884 for a second term of four years; in 1887 the Constitution was modified so as to permit the President to serve for a third term, and in consequence of this modification he was again elected in that year. On the 1st of December, 1888, he took the oath of office, in accordance with the Constitutional provisions, and began his third term, which will expire December 1, 1892.

"There you have a personal history boiled down. President Diaz is a thorough believer in general education, and in railways, telegraphs, and other modern enterprises; in this belief he has been bitterly opposed by the Reactionary party, which is principally composed of the old aristocracy. In his first term concessions were granted for the construction of railways by American companies, and other concessions have been made since that time. One writer who is not particularly friendly to the President says: 'Under the administration of Diaz manufactures have increased, the resources of the country have been developed, commerce has multiplied, education has been advanced, the revenues have been appropriated to the purposes for which they were designed, travel is safe, bandits have been dispersed, and railroads and telegraphs are extending.' And from all we can learn this is by no means an overstatement of the case."

For the benefit of his young lady friends at home Fred added to Frank's sketch that President Diaz had been twice married, his present wife being the daughter of Hon. Romero Rubio, Secretary of the Interior. She is said to be a beauty of the brunette type, charming in manners, an accomplished linguist, speaking several languages, of which English is one, and an exquisite judge of feminine apparel. Her dresses are made by Worth, the famous man-milliner of Paris, and therefore she may justly be considered the leader of fashion in the capital of Mexico. Her duties are less onerous than those of the wife of the President of the United States, as there are no receptions similar to those of the White House, and consequently the Mexican capital is free from the social ferment which is constantly going on at Washington.

Doctor Bronson added a note to the effect that there was a considerable amount of diplomacy in the marriage of President Diaz with his present wife. Her father was one of the leaders of the Church party, and the marriage strengthened Diaz with the Conservatives by making them less hostile to him and his policy; the party was further conciliated when SeÑor Rubio became Secretary of the Interior, and other members of the old opposition were provided with places under the Government. But though the hostility of the Church party has been diminished it still exists; its leaders are ready to take advantage of any mistake of the Government, and if they could again obtain control they would speedily overthrow the present Constitution, whose authority they have never acknowledged.

"The hostility of the two political parties in Mexico to each other," added the Doctor, "is far greater than that between the two great parties of the United States. The Liberal party in Mexico believes in general education, in the construction of railways, the encouragement of manufacturing and other commercial enterprises, and a complete separation of Church and State. The Clerical party believes in the condition of affairs which existed before 1858, in a union of Church and State, and the control of education by the Church, and it has been a steady and consistent opponent of the railways that connect Mexico with the United States. It looks with alarm upon the present influx of foreigners and the adoption of their ideas by the Mexicans. It is proper to add that this alarm is shared by many adherents of the Liberal party, who fear that their country is being denationalized, and will some day be gathered into the fold of the United States."

Frank and Fred examined the Constitution of Mexico, and found that it had many points of resemblance to that of the United States. Each of the States has the right to manage its own local affairs, but all are bound together for general governmental purposes. The central government consists of legislative, judicial, and executive branches, as in the United States; the President is the executive head, and the Senate and House of Representatives form the legislative branches. There are two Senators for each State, and one Representative for every forty thousand inhabitants; Senators and Representatives alike receive $3000 a year. Congress meets on April 1st and September 16th, and each of its sessions lasts two months. During the interim between the sessions a permanent committee of both Houses remains at the capital. Representatives must be twenty-five years of age, and Senators thirty years, and both must be residents of the States they represent. All religions are tolerated, but no ecclesiastical body is allowed to acquire landed property.

Regarding the army and navy Fred wrote as follows:

"The President is commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces, just as he is in the United States. According to the official figures, the war footing of the army comprises 3700 officers and 160,963 men; these are divided into 131,523 infantry, 25,790 dragoons, and 3650 artillerymen. On a peace footing the army includes about 30,000 men of all arms of the service, including the Rurales, who keep the brigands in order, as we have described elsewhere. A friend at my elbow says the officers are almost as numerous as the privates, and he has known a garrison where there were twenty-nine officers and only twenty-seven soldiers.

"The navy won't take long to describe, as it contains three small gunboats and two larger ones. The small gunboats each carry one 20-pound gun, and the larger boats two guns of the same calibre. They are unarmored vessels, are not fast, and from all we can learn we don't think the navy of the United States need have any fear of that of Mexico, at any rate, after we complete some of the ships we are now building."

"While we are considering public matters," wrote Frank, "let us look at the Postal Department. There are about 1200 post-offices in the republic, or one for every 8750 inhabitants; in the United States we have a post-office for every 1200 inhabitants, or seven times as many as Mexico in proportion to the population. The number of pieces of mail matter handled in a year in Mexico is an average of two to each inhabitant, while in the United States the average is fifty-one. The Mexican mails are increasing in importance every year, and will continue to do so as the people become better educated. The extension of the railways causes many new post-offices to be established, and also many telegraph offices. There are more than 20,000 miles of telegraph and 500 telegraph offices; 14,000 miles of telegraph belong to the Government, and the remaining portion is the property of private companies, railways, and individuals.

"If you want an example of progress look at the railways. Mexico had 379 miles of iron roads in 1879, while in 1887 it had 3962 miles open for traffic, including 92 miles of city and suburban lines. The length of railway completed and in operation at the end of 1888 was something more than 4600. Competent authorities say that by the end of 1889 the length of railways in operation in Mexico will exceed 5000 miles. A great many concessions for railways have been granted by the Government for lines that are not likely to be constructed in the life of the present generation. At one time there seemed to be a mania for railway concessions, and the holder of a permission to build a line over an impracticable route, between two insignificant points, believed that he would be able to sell it for a fortune to an English or American corporation.

"Newspapers and other publications have increased in the last few years, but not as rapidly as have the railways. The number is constantly changing, new publications being started and old ones discontinued; and sometimes the starting and discontinuance are very close together, as is the case in other parts of the world. Altogether there are about 300 newspapers in the republic, and of this number fully one-third are published in the capital. Mexico City has as many newspapers as New York or Chicago in proportion to its population, but their circulation is not by any means as large; Mexican publishers are not obliged to stretch their consciences by making affidavits every morning as to the hundreds of thousands of copies they printed on the previous day, or the hogsheads of ink they used for each edition. But though they may not print and sell as many copies as the New York dailies, it is certain that the Mexican papers are steadily gaining in circulation and influence, and the future is full of promise for them.

"The capital city has a daily paper called The Two Republics, which is printed in English; it is specially interesting to strangers, as it has a list of the things and places they wish to see, and contains time-tables of the railways. Sometimes it has special despatches from the United States and other parts of the outside world, but as it has no competitor and its circulation could not be greatly increased by a large expenditure, it wisely studies economy to an extent that would not succeed in New York. There's a weekly paper called The Mexican Financier, printed in English and Spanish; it circulates all over the world, and is an excellent authority for everything relating to railways, banking, and commercial matters in general. The Financier discusses important questions relating to the affairs of the Government, attacks abuses of every kind, and suggests ways in which the prosperity of the country and the welfare of the people may be improved.

"The French population is large enough to have a daily paper in its own language, and the Germans have a weekly one. There are twelve or fifteen dailies in Spanish, and they represent all shades of politics. Generally it pays better for a newspaper to be on the side of the Government than against it; but some of the opposition papers are profitable, and edited with much ability. The style of opposition writing here is to attack very savagely, and sometimes the editors find themselves in prison on account of the bitterness of their editorials and their sweeping charges against public men and measures. Some of the editorials we have read since we came here surpass anything in New York or Chicago papers in the heat of political campaigns, and that is saying a great deal. The editor-in-chief of El Monitor Republicano served a sentence of seven months in the Penitentiary for a too free use of his pen. He was charged with exciting sedition; he was ably defended, and his case was carried to the highest court in the country, which affirmed the decree of the lower courts.

"You couldn't remember them all if we should give a list of the daily papers in Mexico, and so we refrain; still worse off would you be with the names of thirty or more weekly papers, and as many monthlies and other periodicals. You can find publications here on almost any topic that one could name, and you can find an abundance of romances, at least that is what they tell us. The popular novels deal mostly with Mexican life, manners, and history; a friend tells us that we should read 'Guadalupe,' by Irenio Paz, 'Calvario y Tabor,' by Vincente Riva Palacio, and 'Paisajes y Leyendes,' by Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. The first is a novel, describing Mexican home scenes and life; the second is chiefly concerned with the reign of Maximilian, and the sufferings of the people during the foreign invasion; and the third is an account of the manners and customs of the Mexican people in former times and at present. We intend to get these books, and read them at our leisure on the way home."

The delightful and interesting visit of our friends to the Mexican capital came to an end, as all things must. Farewell calls were made upon friends and acquaintances, and early one morning the trio left the hotel for the station of the Mexican Railway, as the line from the capital to Vera Cruz is called. The daily passenger train leaves at 6.30 a.m., and reaches Vera Cruz, or rather is due there, at 7.33 p.m. The distance is 263 miles, and there is a branch line to Puebla twenty-nine miles in length.

The manager of the hotel told our friends that it was advisable for them to procure tickets, and check their trunks in the afternoon preceding their departure, else there might be mistakes and consequent delay in getting away. Assisted by one of the runners of the hotel, Frank attended to these formalities, and completed them to his entire satisfaction. Tickets were taken to Puebla, and baggage checked to that place; the trunks were carefully weighed, and all exceeding thirty-three pounds to each passenger was heavily charged for. Frank remarked that evidently the managers of the line were not running it for fun, but to make money.

"And well they may," said an American gentleman who was talking with the Doctor when the youth returned from the station. "This line of railway is one of the most expensive in the world," he continued, "partly in consequence of the difficult engineering over the mountains and partly by reason of the wastefulness of its builders. According to the report of the Minister of Finance, its total cost was $36,319,526, or at the rate of more than $123,000 per mile; it was built with English capital, aided by Mexican subsidies.

"It was begun in 1852, though there had been a concession for a line as early as 1837. The concession included a Government subsidy, and one of the conditions was that construction should be pushed from both ends of the line towards the middle. This necessitated the transportation to the city of Mexico of rails, locomotives, cars, and all sorts of building material over the old diligence-road; the transport of these things gave employment to great numbers of men and animals, but increased the cost enormously, probably twice what it would have otherwise been. The work was suspended several times by revolutions, wars, lack of funds, change of government, and other obstacles; and the line was not completed until the end of 1872. It was inaugurated by President Lerdo, on the 1st of January, 1873, having been solemnly blessed by the Archbishop of Mexico the previous day.

"When you see the section between Boca del Monte and Orizaba, where the railway descends 4,000 feet in twenty-five miles, with numerous curves of 300 feet radius and gradients of three or four per cent., you will not wonder that a great deal of money was expended in crossing the mountains. While the surveys were being made it was frequently necessary to lower the engineers by means of ropes over the precipices, and the workmen were often suspended in this way until they could cut deep enough into the side of the mountain to obtain a foothold."

There was not much of interest along the railway line as the train rolled out of the capital. Our friends found themselves skirting Lake Tezcoco, and they had a near and farewell view of the famous church of Guadalupe; in order to avoid heavy grades, the railway takes a circuitous course, and is much longer than the wagon-road connecting the capital with Puebla. For many miles it is bordered on both sides by fields of maguey; Frank and Fred estimated that the acres of maguey plants they had seen since entering the country were sufficient to supply pulque enough for a population three times as large as that of the republic at the present time.

As they neared Apizaco they saw some changes in the general aspect of the country, but it was still the tierra fria, or cold region, in which they had been so long sojourning. At Apizaco they changed to another train, which took them over the branch line to Puebla, landing them at the station of that city at the hour of noon. They sought the Hotel Diligencias, and found it a comfortable establishment, from a Mexican point of view.

Puebla is a city of 70,000 inhabitants; it is old and wealthy, and its cathedral is one of the finest in Mexico—some do not hesitate to give it higher rank than the cathedral of the capital. Our friends went the usual round of sight-seeing in the city, and according to custom, one of the first things they saw was the cathedral.

"Stop a moment," said Frank, "the cathedral was not the first object to attract our attention. Our eyes had been fixed upon the great volcano, Popocatepetl and his white sister; they are in full view from the city and much nearer than at Mexico, so that they are far more impressive. Then, too, we had a view of the noble peak of Orizaba, of which we shall have more to say later on.

"Puebla has so many churches," continued Frank, "that you can't expect us to visit all of them. We went to the cathedral, which was consecrated in 1649, and therefore is a venerable building; additions have been made to it at various times since then, and within the last two or three years a handsome monument to Pope Pio Nono has been erected on the terrace on which the cathedral stands. The building has two fine towers; we climbed to the top of one of them, and had a fine view. Fred and I did the climbing, while the Doctor remained below.

"You can judge of the richness of the interior when I tell you that the high altar cost more than $110,000. There are eighteen bells in the tower, the largest of them weighing nine tons, and an inscription on the tower tells that this large bell cost $100,000. The chapels abound in sculpture and paintings, and if we should make a list of them, without any comment whatever, I'm afraid you would find it too long for patient perusal. The cathedral is 323 feet long by 100 wide, and occupies an imposing position which is well calculated to impress the beholder.

"We visited two other churches, the San Francisco and La CompaÑia, and found them well worth the time we devoted to them, and a great deal more than we could spare. Our guide showed us the ruins of the covered way to the Inquisition; for Puebla, no less than the city of Mexico, had a branch of this institution of the Church. Puebla has always been noted as a religious city; it was founded as an antidote to heathen Cholula, which is only a few miles away, and its full name is Puebla de los Angeles—'Town of the Angels.' Before the Laws of the Reform went into force four-fifths of the valuation of real estate and other property in Puebla belonged to the Church, and one-fifth to private individuals.

"Puebla has extensive manufactures of cotton cloth, glassware, and pottery. Like Guadalajara, it is famous for its pottery, and it is also famous for glazed tiles, which have been liberally used for ornamenting the houses, both inside and out. Domes of churches and their outer and inner walls are covered with these tiles, and the same is the case with many private buildings. The effect is very pretty, though sometimes too gaudy for our taste; but then, you know, the Mexicans are fond of color. Another famous manufacture of Puebla is braided straw-work. Baskets and mats were offered to us in great quantity and variety, and we found them so pretty that we invested a handful of dollars in these articles. They will come in very well at Christmas-time for friends whom we wish to remember.

"The city has a Plaza Mayor, a Zocala, an Alameda, and a Paseo, just like any and every Mexican city. We gave a glance at them, and then went to the battle-ground of the Cinco de Mayo (5th of May, 1862). It is on the hill of Guadalupe, and from one point we have a view of three snow-covered volcanoes, together with a fourth mountain that just barely misses reaching the snow-line. A much more important battle than that of the Cinco de Mayo was fought here April 2, 1867, when General Porfirio Diaz, now President, stormed Puebla and captured the imperial garrison."