Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/397

Rh native editorial fraternity, and belong, with them, to the "Mexican Press Association."

The Mexican newspaper reporter is not so ubiquitous and persevering as his American brother. I have known of houses being entered by lightning-rod men, sewing-machine agents, and other inevitable invaders, but an "interviewing" reporter penetrating the sanctities of a home is a thing unheard of. The rattle of the family skeleton is not a healthy subject for the versatile talents of a knight of the quill. The costumbres del pais, backed by the powerful aid of barred windows and heavy doors, forbid all such investigations, and he would as soon think of leaping into the Gulf of Mexico as daring to break through those Mede-and-Persian laws or storming those forbidding portals.

The Liceo Morelos is also an institution of merit. It unites with readings, recitations, and scientific discussions, amateur theatricals, tableaux vivants, and other social features. The latter entertainments are generally given in honor of some of its members, which include the most brilliant men of the capital, among them many journalists. Ladies, also, are numbered in its membership.

Social reunions are held in compliment to various members of the society, and every eulogistic speech relates to the person thus distinguished.

On the occasion of the birthday of Señor Augustin Arroyo de Anda, one of the most prominent members of the Mexican Press Association, he, together with his wife, was thus honored. A few of the compliments of the evening were embodied in the following flowery language:

Another: