Page:Mexico, picturesque, political, progressive.djvu/84

82 altar. In the plazas of many towns rise the monuments to their memory, and the cause they championed: "Tacubuya a sus Martiros," "Chihuahua a Hidalgo;" and the eagerness with which these are pointed out to-day makes the moral plainer.

The city overflows with public buildings of rare interest, both intrinsically and for association's sake. The National Palace contains among its treasures the portraits of the earlier patriots, and the State apartments of Maximilian and Carlotta. Republican and Imperialist alike fell before the fortunes of war, and it is fitting that their relics should be preserved together. An attempt at a practical illustration of liberty is made by allowing every one to enter certain rooms freely. We saw two old women utilizing the principle by smoking very bad cigarettes in the outer reception parlor. In the pretty patio of the museum, the Aztec stone of sacrifice, and some fairly preserved specimens of the ancient gods, move you to a faint understanding of what the far-away, shadowy age meant. The art -gallery held a few really great pictures, among many of less repute. Among the native artists, imagination as yet seems to have