The White Chief: A Legend of Northern Mexico Page 42

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO.

  The house of Don Ambrosio de Cruces was not a town mansion. It wassuburban--that is, it stood upon the outskirts of the village, someseven or eight hundred yards from the Plaza. It was detached from theother buildings, and at some distance from any of them. It was neithera "villa" nor a "cottage." There are _no_ such buildings in Mexico, noranything at all resembling them. In fact, the architecture of thatcountry is of unique and uniform style, from north to south, throughsome thousand miles of latitude! The smaller kinds of houses,--theranchos of the poorer classes,--show a variety corresponding to thethree thermal divisions arising from different elevation--_caliente_,_templada_, and _fria_. In the hot lands of the coast, and some lowvalleys in the interior, the rancho is a frail structure of cane andpoles with a thatch of palm-leaves. On the elevated "valles," ortable-plains--and here, be it observed, dwell most of the population--itis built of "adobes," and this rule is universal. On the forest-coveredsides of the more elevated mountains the rancho is a house of logs, a"log-cabin," with long hanging eaves and shingled roof, differingentirely from the log-cabin of the American backwoods, and far excellingthe latter in neatness and picturesque appearance.

  So much for the "ranchos." About them there is some variety of style.Not so with "casas grandes," or houses of the rich. A samenesscharacterises them through thirty degrees of latitude--from oneextremity of Mexico to the other; and, we might almost add, throughoutall Spanish America. If now and then a "_whimsical_" structure beobserved, you may find, on inquiry, that the owner is some foreignerresident--an English miner, a Scotch manufacturer, or a German merchant.

  These remarks are meant only for the houses of the country. In smallvillages the same style as the country-house is observed, with veryslight modifications; but in large towns, although some of thecharacteristics are still retained, there is an approximation to thearchitecture of European cities--more particularly, of course, to thoseof Spain.

  The house of Don Ambrosio differed very little from the general fashionof "casas grandes" of country style. It had the same aspect of gaol,fortress, convent, or workhouse--whichever you please; but this aspectwas considerably lightened by the peculiar colouring of the walls, whichwas done in broad vertical bands of red, white, and yellow, alternatingwith each other! The effect produced by this arrangement of gay coloursis quite Oriental, and is a decided relief to the otherwise heavyappearance of a Mexican dwelling. In some parts of the country thisfashion is common.

  In shape there was no peculiarity. Standing upon the road in front yousee a long wall, with a large gateway near the middle, and three or fourwindows irregularly set. The windows are shielded with bars ofwrought-iron standing vertically. That is the "reja." None of themhave either sash or glass. The gateway is closed by a heavy woodendoor, strongly clasped and bolted with iron. This front wall is but onestorey high, but its top is continued so as to form a parapet,breast-high above the roof, and this gives it a loftier appearance. Theroof being flat behind, the parapet is not visible from below. Lookaround the corner at either end of this front wall. You will see nogable--there is no such thing on a house of the kind we are describing.In its place you will see a dead wall of the same height as the parapet,running back for a long distance; and were you to go to the end of it,and again look around the corner, you would find a similar wall at theback closing in the parallelogram.

  In reality you have not yet seen the true front of Don Ambrosio's house,if we mean by that the part most embellished. A Mexican spends butlittle thought on the outside appearance of his mansion.

  It is only from the courtyard, or "patio," you can get a view of thefront upon which the taste of the owner is displayed, and this oftenexhibits both grandeur and elegance.

  Let us pass through the gateway, and enter the "patio." The "portero,"when summoned by knock or bell, admits us by a small door, forming partof the great gate already mentioned. We traverse an arched way, the"zaguan," running through the breadth of the building, and then we arein the patio. From this we have a view of the real front of the house.

  The patio itself is paved with painted bricks--a tessellated pavement.A fountain, with jet and ornamental basin, occupies its centre; andseveral trees, well trimmed, stand in large vessels, so that their rootsmay not injure the pavement. Around this court you see the doors of thedifferent apartments, some of them glazed and tastefully curtained. Thedoors of the "sala," the "cuarto," and the sleeping-rooms, are on threesides, while the "cocina" (kitchen), the "dispensa" (store-room),"granero" (granary), with the "caballeriza" and coach-house, make up theremaining part of the square.

  There is still an important portion of the mansion to be spoken of--the"azotea," or roof. It is reached by an "escalera," or stone staircase.It is flat and quite firm, being covered with a cement that is proofagainst rain. It is enclosed by a parapet running all round it--of sucha height as not to hinder the view of the surrounding country, while itprotects those occupying it from the intrusive gaze of persons passingbelow. When the sun is down, or behind a cloud, the azotea is a mostagreeable promenade; and to render it still more so, that over the houseof Don Ambrosio had been arranged so as to resemble a flower-garden.Richly japanned pots, containing rare flowers, were placed around, andgreen boughs and gay blossoms, rising above the top of the wall,produced a fine effect on viewing the building from without.

  But this was not the only garden belonging to the mansion of the richminer. Another, of oblong shape, extended from the rear of the house,enclosed by a high wall of adobes on either side. These, ending uponthe bank of the stream, formed the boundary of the garden. Along thestream there was no fence, as it was here of sufficient breadth anddepth to form an enclosure of itself. The garden was of large extent,including an orchard of fruit-trees at its lower part, and it wastastefully laid out in walks, flowerbeds, and arbours of differentshapes and sizes. Don Ambrosio, although but a rich _parvenu_, mighthave been supposed to be a man of refined taste by any one viewing thisgarden--the more so, as such delightful retreats are by no means commonin that country. But it was to another mind than his that these shadowytrees and fragrant arbours owed their existence. They were the "ideas"of his fair daughter, many of whose hours were spent beneath theirshade.

  To Don Ambrosio the sight of a great cavity in the earth, with hugequarries of quartz rock or scoria, and a rich "veta" at the back, wasmore agreeable than all the flowers in the world. A pile of "barras deplata" would be to his eyes more interesting than a whole countrycovered with black tulips and blue dahlias.

  Not so his fair daughter Catalina. Her taste was both elevated andrefined. The thought of wealth, the pride of riches, never entered hermind. She would willingly have surrendered all her much-talked-ofinheritance to have shared the humble rancho of him she loved.