o be rather a development of modern American
civilisation all through, and whether in New York--and indeed
Canada--or whether in Mexico, Peru, Chile, or Argentina, greater care
seems to be expended upon the welfare of the criminal than on the
ordinary poor citizen!

[Illustration: MEXICAN LIFE: THE CATHEDRAL AND THE PENITENTIARY, CITY
OF PUEBLA.]

As previously observed, Mexican society falls into lines of marked
class distinction. The rich and the educated stand in sharp
juxtaposition to the great bulk of poor and uneducated, and the high
silk hat and frock-coat form a striking contrast to the half-naked and
sandalled _peon_ in the _plazas_ and streets of the cities. Similarly
does the _caballero_, the horseman on caparisoned steed, spurn the dust
on country roads through which the humble cotton-clad Indian labourer
slinks to his toil. The horse, in Mexico, is always an outward sign of
social superiority, and no self-respecting Mexican would ever be seen
on foot beyond the paved streets of his cities. The noble animal is an
integral part of Mexican life, social or industrial, and the Mexicans
are in some respects the most expert horsemen in the world, as
elsewhere shown.

The upper-class Mexican is generally a large landowner. The great
estates which form his _hacienda_ lie in one or the other part of the
country, whether upon the great tableland or in the tropical regions
which surround it. He spends a certain period of the year upon his
_hacienda_, returning to the capital or journeying to Europe as desire
or necessity may dictate. Great plantations of cotton, or immense areas
of sugar-cane, or _maguey_, or other products yield him the
considerable income which he enjoys; and, as a rule, the fertile lands
of the Republic are in the hands of this class, to the exclusion of the
great bulk of the inhabitants. But the _haciendas_ are important
centres of industry, supporting the rural population in their vicinity.

The Mexican shares the characteristics of the Latin race in his love
for politics, military and other titles and distinctions, and his
predilection for holding some Government office. The law, the army,
medicine are professions which appeal to him as affording distinction
or degree, as well as giving outlet to the love of scientific pursuits,
generally, however, theoretical rather than practical. On all sides one
hears men addressed as "Doctor," whether it be of science, laws,
medicine, or divinity. This