Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/248

232 the capital. Thence he proceeded to San Pedro Analco, about a league from Guadalajara, and was entertained with a sumptuous dinner. His entry into the city was arranged to take place on the 26th, and the joyful demonstrations and formal expressions of honor on that occasion soothed his greatly harassed mind and revived his hopes. Had he been a crowned monarch, his reception could not have been more brilliant. The streets, crowded with the inhabitants, were adorned with hangings and devices of bright colors; the troops of Torres were drawn up in two long lines reaching to the gateway of the cathedral, in the atrium of which was stationed the battalion of provincial infantry to salute the chief with military honors.

As the cortege entered the city and passed along the dense lines of people on either side, from thousands of voices rang the welcoming Viva! mingled with salvoes of artillery, the reports of soaring rockets, and the silvery sound of bells and soft-toned marimbas. At the door of the cathedral an altar had been placed, beside which stood Dean Escandon in canonical robes to present Hidalgo with holy water. This ceremony being performed, accompanied by many of the chapter, the revolutionary leader proceeded to the presbytery, where a solemn te deum was chanted. Thence he went in state to the palace, and, in the grand saloon, beneath a richly ornamented dorsel, received the authorities, civil corporations, and ecclesiastical communities.

Hidalgo, thus installed, proceeded to decide existing differences between the military leaders, and to organize a formal government. The first having been arranged, he appointed two ministers to take charge