It still carries on a
considerable trade, but its appearance of prosperity is deceptive; and
I would caution emigrants not to be deceived by the Texan accounts of
the place. Immense profits have been made, to be sure; but now even the
Mexican smugglers and banditti are beginning to be disgusted with the
universal want of faith and probity.
The Mexicans were very fond of gardens and of surrounding their houses
with beautiful trees, under the shade of which they would pass most of
the time which could be spared from bathing. This gives a fresh and
lively appearance to the city, and you are reminded of Calabrian
scenery, the lightness and simplicity of the dwellings contrasting with
the grandeur and majesty of the monastic buildings in the distance.
Texas had no convents, but the Spanish missions were numerous, and their
noble structures remain as monuments of former Spanish greatness. Before
describing these immense establishments, it is necessary to state that
soon after the conquest of Mexico, one of the chief objects of Spanish
policy was the extension of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.
The conversion of the Indians and the promulgation of Christianity were
steadily interwoven with the desire of wealth; and at the time that they
took away the Indian's gold, they gave him Christianity.
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