Page:Life in Mexico vol 1.djvu/63

Rh certainly neither courtier nor orator; a man of undeniable bravery, capable of supporting almost incredible hardships, humane, and who has always proved himself a sincere lover of what he considered liberty, without ever having been actuated by ambitious or interested motives.

It is said that his defects were indolence, want of resolution, and too much reliance on his own knowledge. He is the only Mexican president who finished as chief magistrate, the term prescribed by the laws. It is alleged, in proof of his simplicity, though I think it is too absurd to be true, that having received a dispatch with the two-headed eagle on the seal, he remarked to the astonished envoy who delivered it—"Our arms are very much alike, only I see that his majesty's eagles have two heads. I have heard that some of that species exist here, in tierra caliente, and shall have one sent for."

The General is not married, but appears rather desirous of entering the united state. He strongly recommends us to avoid broken bones by going in literas, at least as far as Jalapa. Having stumbled about for some time in search of his cocked hat, it was handed to him by his aid-de-camp, and he took leave.

We walked out in the evening to take a look of the environs, with Señor Vo, the commander of

the Jason, and several young ladies of the house. We walked in the direction of an old church, where it is or was the custom for young ladies desirous of being married to throw a stone at the saint, their fortune depending upon the stone's hitting him, so