Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/284

276 Tehuantepec, and Yucatan; in a word, there are Indians and Indians. We need only note that the languages and dialects spoken by the various Indians of Mexico number one hundred and twenty, besides sixty more which are known to have become extinct.

The race which was imposed upon the country at the coming of the Spaniards should be the next to attract our attention, since it is from the union of this with the aboriginal that the representative Mexican is produced. The Creoles (Criollos) are either Europeans or of European parentage. At the time of the revolution, 1810-1821, a term of contempt was used in speaking of the Spaniards; they were called Gachupines. The Creoles were at one time the gentry, the aristocracy of Mexico, and even have aspirations in that direction now. In them, says Sartorius, we recognize the features of the Spaniard of the south, the conquerors and first colonists having been Andalusians. They are gentle and refined, yet vain and passionate, excellent hosts, delightful companions, addicted to gaming, and passionate admirers of the fair sex. The latter number among them many exceedingly lovely women, with dark complexions, large, languishing eyes, lithe and delicate forms, and dainty feet and hands. They are so closely immured in their prison-like dwellings that the foreigner has few opportunities for judging of their character; but I will venture to affirm that it will, compare favorably with that of their sisters of more northern climes. The daughters are closely watched by the mothers, who rarely trust them alone out of their sight. This may or may not be necessary; materfamilias thinks it is; the wicked young man, against whom all these precautions are taken, thinks it cruel.

"Domestic life is very different from that of the Germanic races. The life led by the ladies in their boudoirs savors something of the Oriental; they work beautifully with the needle, weave and embroider, play and sing; the intellectual element, however, is wanting, the understanding and the heart are uncultivated, and sensuality therefore easily obtains the upper hand. . . . . Taken altogether, the morals are more lax even