Page:Mexico of the Mexicans.djvu/41



population of Mexico is divided into three well marked castes: that whose members are of more or less pure Spanish descent; the half-breed or mestizo class; and pure Indians. The proportions of these in a population of 13,500,000 is, according to the latest Census returns: Whites, one fifth; mixed bloods, 43 per cent.; and Indians, 38 per cent. There are also numerous sub-divisions of these castes which have arisen through intermarriage.

The upper classes are, of course, composed of the dominant white race of Castilian descent, between which and the rest of the population a great social gulf is fixed. The Mexican Spaniard is exclusive in the extreme; and, although polite and most correct in his relations with strangers and foreigners, is by no means given to indiscriminate hospitality. Reserved and self-contained, he resents intrusion, and seeks relaxation amongst his personal friends, whom he has probably known since an early age. If the new-comer is well recommended to him, however, he will be found hospitable and anxious to extend a welcome. He usually possesses dignified manners, much native charm, and is cultivated and well-informed. He has a strong partiality for the sober and correct frock-coat and silk hat of civilisation, which attire adds to his inches, for, as a rule, although he carries himself well, he is not much above middle height. His Spanish is usually pure and polished, and without those jarring provincialisms which too often mar the speech of Latin-Americans in other republics.

If he is wealthy, the house he lives in is, as a rule, built in oblong shape round an interior courtyard open to the sky. Rh