Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Life in Mexico during a Residence of Two Years in That Country

1914; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 46; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/201752

1931-0838

Richard Elwood Dodge, Madame Calderon de la Barca,

Aging, Health, and Disability

de la Uarca, who was stationed in the, bleakness of ihe Siorra, telling him that it would: be cpnyenient if ho gavç 'without delay whatever infonnation he or any of his family possessed about the two distin^uislied dead;pnes.i(Thelieu-, tenant answered; saying, that ho overflowed ,wilh sorrow, but hu had not hitherto he.-ird anything' about them; if they were not ancestors of his,, he Uiou^ht it poshiblo^hat Uicy niigjH be, collaterals, and for ilia rest, he placed himself quite unrcscrvccjfy , at the disposal of the searclier.As for.Mexico, there is not any.special wrath, against the lady on account of her outspoken, criticism and her laughter, which is not invariably jovial; but.their attitude, with one excepiion, is. that of a seller of jars at Guernavaca, opposite the old niarlcot-place.He was established in the vestibule of a private house, and (here, he tojd me, he had been for many years, and he regretted that a large and covered market had.beenbuilt in another part of the town.He was unable to inform, me who resided in this house, but, on the other hand, his jars were good, and there he, was at my, disposal.The exception who is not in what the • theologiçins.call "invincible ignorance" of Madame Caldpron is Don Vic^ toriauo Salado Alvarez, now representing the Republic,in Brazil, whom I take this opportunity, of thanking, for his kind assistance.The gallant representative of Spain at the Mexican Centennial celebrations, General Marquis Polavicja, undertook to cause a great deal of material to be sent by his friend, the Alcalde of-Seville, and after severa} months I flid receive a letter from that gentleman, who told me/One or two not wholly, buried facts about Calderon dc.lai Barca, the dramatist, HI wanted any more,, he placed himpejf, and; the municipality of Seville very fnuçlt at my disposal.. U.fiipy be considered strange, that I have made no mention of; the living-Spanish nieces and nephews of Madytne Calderon, faut l can.only surmise that (he great Calderon's La Vida es, Sueño " J^s exerted, such, ^'n influence over them that they hold all,life to'be a(<Jream, and" therefore strivp so vehemently 19 prevent one ascertaining any vulgar facts.They allow me to ,say,that the dramatist died in 1681, but are very reluctant that the Minister's death year,.1861, should be disclosed.Nothing ^yhatqven tT|us^ be said about his political life, though they jnforrp mc thpt U I should happen to discover anything about jiim-well, I piay \isç,)ff and as for the book of his gifted y/ife, nothing,, absolutely nothing, must be now.revealedwhich was çonsiiíered indiscreet and was suppressed in.1343-Madame Çaldcrop appear^ to have known the limitations of these ^qlafives when.sheleft, her Introductipn xi sister, Mrs. McLeoti, in ctrrymg on a sçhool which at.cjifferent times 'was at Boston, at Staicn Island and at Baltimore.She was regarded as an excellent teacher,' and i\th\s pqrtioq of h^r history," says Mrs., Hale, "is a model for young ladies, who should cheerfully assist in sustaining-themselves and others dear to them whenever such necessity occurs."Wc can.see in this book that the school left her quite vivacious, pnd at least one earlier hook was (oo vivacious for the citizens of, Boston.It is said, however, that Goodrich, who.,wrote;a variety pf volumes under the name of Peter Parley, ipade use of her pen in "The Child's Own Book of American Geography," which appeared in 1832, There was not much scope for luupour or for anything else (Mexico, Guatemala ^nd the West Judies are only given three pages), but there ,is an illustration .of' the sea-serpent, which is "frequently seen along the,shores of New Kngland."In addition to Goodrich, Fanny IngÜs became acquainted with Ticknor, the publisher, Lowell, IVcscott ¡ and Longfellow.There is a letter written on April 6, 1836, from Prescott to .Ticknor, in which Señor Calderon is mentioned for lhe first timo."I have been much gratified,", ho soys, "by ihu 111111111^1' In whlili iho liitolc [' l-'mlhuuul 41 ml Jaubuil{i '] has been read by more than one intelligent Spaniard here,, in (mrtlcular by the S|mii¡nh MinÍHlor, Don Angel Calderon dp la Barca, who has sent me a present of books and expresses his intention of translating my History into Castilian.In .consequence of this, as well as to obtain his assistance for the other crotchets I have in my head, I paid a visit to New York last week-a momentous affair, for it would be easier for you to go to Constantinople.Well, I saw Jiis Spanishship, and was very much ple;tsecl with him-a frank, manly caballero, who has resigned his oflicc from a refusal to subscribe the late democratic constitution.lie is quite an accomplished man, in correspondence with the principal Spanish scholars at home, so that he will be of obvious use to me in any project I may have hereafter.He told me he had sent a copy of the work to the Royal Academy of History, and should present one to the Queen, if he had not retired from office.There's a feather In my cap I . .."Spain wan divided at.thitf lime between Cnrlists, the supporters of absolutism, and .Christinos, the adherents of the Queen-mother; but the Christinos had split into two parties, the mudtrudos and the progresistas, which latter party had extorted from the Regent the revival of that constitution which in 1812 had been so bitterly opposed by the nobles and priests.Don Angel, who had been brought up in 'the'^moderate" political school of Bcrmudez.f'sawJtoU-ow&^fljendá at'home 'swept1 into -office-tho reigns I of • the Quoeiv Í 'ittotHer tfnd of'isíibella II -prcacnl o Uiamal pteiuré of uncMaringr ^'faction and Intrigue-he -wus appointed Minister,to Mexico inr1 •''ttiifat' áfter having married hvtha-isame • year < Fanny 'InBli$.''ánd'IK't^oridart/'this beingf the snnie year in which Prcscoti's '•'ICdrtqu'est'-of 'Mexico"' 'toóle the ^orld by storm.He wrote 'ití'the N'órth 'AmeHcan"-Review an-article which may be found 'íílsÓ'irrhis ''Biographical and Critical Miscellanies " (London, -''¿S^J^'whíiréin he^sàld-tlvât Partios of ladies-and .gentlemenJ¿ó it'hizzírtg''alohgiin their steamships'over the track, which cost ¿o many wehry.daysto the ArgonaviUof old." . . .[Múdame '•^CHldÉÍon'Wá's travelliiig'for'about three weeks between Havana tyfiú •Vcfítcrliz^o-joiirncy1 wlüch is now necomplishòd in about 'tvto dáys.'] . .•i'^iXhe facilities of communication have, in fact, !'so abridged distances that'geography, .aswe ¡ have hitherto, -Studied1 it, may be said to be entirely reformed. . . .There is Inó'cóünfry''mote'difficult to discuss in all its multiform aspects' 'than 'Mexico'/-br father • the wide1 region -once, comprehended 'iimder'the'i'iame óf'ÑeW'Spaín."He-proceeds to point out that 'HuTrlboldt'coiild grapple1 with all Mexican problems except the •fcbülal,' for1 hê arranged in its proper class every new object ^iVitH profound scholarship and art.'But he was • somcluntjH •"tílífigured by pedtulli'y, iin\bituniB diapfay and learned obscurity.This was not tliii case'with Madame Calderon, "Here the ' '•íviíebí'a Spanish Ambassador," said the Athonoitm, "permits f 'Ihe^'pübUcalÍDn of journals written in h land,hitherto unvisitcd ; ' by any one gifted'with so Uoen mi eye and HO plcnwiiit a pen."•'Arid lUo' IStUnhurgH'Rvvlew observod ihut "Madame Calderonls • b'ooltf has all lhe'natural liveliness and tact and readiness .òfirtrhaVk which are sure to distinguish the-'first production of a 'fctevcr woman..' .'Amoró gemiino-' book,' in air as well ns •fedlly»' it would'be diflxcult to find;" It has been asserted that the'Calderons; dwelt'in'the most historic palace of the Puente de ''Alvarüdb.a'broad street near • the fashionable park, the Alameda; arid'about a mile from the-centre i'of the town; but 'when they'first«árriveil in'--Mexico this bujldmg, occupied suc-'béirsivel^by the British Legation; by Santa Anna the Magnificent 'and'by''Señor Pei'e'z' Galvez;1'was to'the right of them; their Se'corid1 house,' in'frónt of the'old monastery off San Fernando, '•fcáa'on' the óppositd íltlo of' lliú strout.' 'And' (ho jmluce \Wiicli 'the Emperor and lie buried in the neighbouring San'Fernando.The third residence of the Calderon» was'in1 the Mint, the Casa de'Moneda, by the side of the National Palace,'iwhereithe'ruthk:H3 ducds described in •I.ettur the Torty-Fourth Wore precisely like those which from lhe autumn of 1910 lmve¡.bcen.destroyingthis ;so-callcd Republic, as 1 try to chronicle--in-«my book "Mexico the .Laud of Unrest."In spite of the telophonos and the asphalt streets and the wonderful service of electric trams, it made us realize that Mexico remains the'México;of Madame Calderon when Victoriano Huerta, the Commander-in-chief oí Madero's army,'came to an arrangement with General Felix Diaz, his opponent, and assassinated ¡in"his'bed the idealist Modero, 'Afterwards, of course; die1 sent the General on-& ceremonial visit tò 'japan.' And I if> i we--study Madame Cfdderon attentively we shall know what: is goings1 to happen next.A part of iiiir 'equipment, by lho*way, was artjuamtance with the language,* and tins is such! an obvious, necoisity that one'would not repeat the words 'of Prescott.if it were not that the other lady witli whom we .•have.'contrasted Madame Cnldoron dias actually confessed her Jack of knowledge-"without which," Huya PruaUoU, íla traveller Is an much at fault as a man without , an .eye' ifor * colour in -a picture galleryor an ear for music at .a concert.! ¡He may see or hear, indeed, in both, but citi bono?i The traveller ignorant of lhe language!. . .may possibly meet a native or two, half denaturalized, kept to dine 'with strangers at his banker's.But ps to the intcrion/'mechanism of society, its secret sympathies and familiar tone .of-thinking-andfeeling, he can know no more than lie could of the contents of a library, by'running over-1 the titles of strango¡:and.unknown authors packed together op the shelves.'f.-Victor.Hugo knew that it is of interestito contemplate a'wall, behind which some event is taking placo, but it is improbable that he would have beheld in Mrs. Alec Tweedie the re(|ulsite amount of sympathy and Jthrco years ¡of: dovotod study she became a Ronmn .Cathj One aeeB how she was more than amiable, in the first Let towards the husband of Li E. L., for in the book she does sppak.of,hpr.suspicions as to whether he had any share.inde'at^.f'Those who stood in the nearest and tenderest relatl ship.to this lamented lady have authorized us," said the COM of January i2, 1839, " to make a representation to her friendsj •acquaintances that they shall,forbear at present from mak public any communications from her or any surmises of t( own that can only tend to oxdtu most idle, but nt lho sd lime most painful, apoculatlons as to the dreuin.Htances of; death.!' And perhaps it was this appeal which caused Mada Calderon, four years lalcr, to suppress what was then pr< universally considered to he the truth.Her book, however, 1 from other points of view so admirable, it was so accurate | so observant that in the Mexican war of 1847 it was used a guide:by the American officers, including General Scott.• .1843her husband was sent back as Minister to VVashing{ and' there, amid a brilliant circle, with Webster and Calhj and others, they remained till 1853.What posterity rememt jof -us are a few.things chosen in: a way which seems to; haphazard, and of Madame Calderon òf the Spanish Legat 'it remembers that she was a little lady with a bird-like vc h xvi Introduction^ , íhe 'Press buyond the chíinnel (lhe part most dislinguishcd for , its ' fabulous^ inconsequence and disgusting veiiaíity) reason, propriety 1 and decormn have long been meaningless words , when' Spain was under discussion.Has not the British law power to provuut a fow wrutc'lu'N jinÍKO('íililcf<| inmi inMilihif; níorallty ?" and so íortli. 1 Señor Calderon de la.Barca'b apjíóintm'ent, said tiw Times, " is evidently intended as a ccfunterpoisc to the nomination of M. SouhS to the American Efnbassy at' Madrid, and it Is no doubt: believed that his experience'óf'América will be a match for the ardent representative of the'Union.Calderon de la.Barca has undoubtedly much 'experience 1 in American affairs, and, if Spain was u'nagitated, might • be a respectable, useful Minister.But considering the period,' the persons he'will have to deal with and the dictatorial character'of the President of the Council, his'1 fitness in that respectáis open to much doubt.He is a man óf remarkably mild manners, unaccustomed (o intrigue, ahd'will for some lime find himself not quite al his ease with some of hiè colleagues, with whom he may have io¡ light, as it'were, at navajas-daggers drawn." .And what appears' to have been his most stubborn act of opposition is not laudable to EiigHshmen : in-the: affair of the Protestant Burial Ground he