“Governor of the Great State of Chihuahua,
“United States of America.
“Sir:—After having read the article in the great daily Chihuahuan, of to-day’s issue, your petition in the House of Representatives, which you are praying to become a law; and after long and grave meditation upon the same, I have reached the conclusion which you will shortly know.
“Realizing for the first time in my life how fruitless it is for me to dash my head against a stone wall, thereby losing my own self-respect, and being the cause of keeping hundreds in ignorance and want that I may live in the lap of voluptuous luxury, and increase the number of converts to our faith, and the number of centavos with which the exchequer of the church already groans, I herewith write you this confession. For some time I have seen the inevitable end of all teachings which conflict with free thought scientifically demonstrated; but I have followed the teachings of the church, and have held on with the bulldog tenacity characteristic of the faith,—that same tenacity which led the few teachers to the New Spain, which they held in their iron clasp for more than four hundred years.
“But light dawned upon them, and our power began to wane. It is useless to fight for a lost cause, particularly when you know that that cause cannot ever bring good to the people.
“My great friend, Don Francisco R. Cantu y Falomir, and myself wish to hereby confess that we are guilty of treason against our great government, and are fully resigned to accept without a murmur the full punishment of the law. It was a bitter struggle for us, for two people who were taught, since remembrance began, to worship the religion and customs of our long-lost Mexico, to hate our adopted mother and all her fair sons and daughters, because of their Anglo-Saxon blood.
“Great and noble Governor, we are repenting to-day in ‘sackcloth and ashes.’ Do not judge us too severely, for we are not wholly to blame.
“There are many things which weigh heavily upon my mind—things for which I cannot account, or rather, impressions of things which have occurred at some time in my life which do not seem definite to me.
“Since I began writing this confession, a beautiful little girl has come into the room, and on entering exclaimed: ‘Ah! I have found you leaders of this riot; I have found you.’ (We are in a vacant house at the foot of Calle de Hidalgo, in hiding.) ‘And now that I have caught up with you, I have not the heart to let the police know, for they will imprison your bodies as your souls are now imprisoned. Imprisoned on account of your own stubbornness and ignorance. Gentlemen,’ continued the pretty child, ‘why do you stand in the way of your own development? It makes me weep to see you caring only for physical enjoyment. Why did you bring on this rebellion? Why did you want to take my papa away from this existence? His work is not done.’
“I interrupted her by asking her name; she replied modestly: ‘I am called Catalina Martinet, but his Honor, Governor Miguel Lehumada, should be my papa, and he will be some day, and that day I wish were here now.’ Rev. J. T. Note, sitting close by, said: ‘That’s a corker! This child must have taken some of that accursed stuff that the three citizens of Chihuahua, who claim to be scientists, call “Memory Fluid.” Say, little Catalina, the freak who wishes she had been born the child of the great and wonderful Governor of Chihuahua, tell me, how can you prove that you are not his child? And come, darling, sit upon my knee, and let me hear thy musical voice tell about the other lives you have lived. For if you are a disciple of the famous Governor, you claim to have lived many, many times.’ Then chuckling her under the chin, he continued: ‘Come, pet, tell the Rev. J. T. Note all about it. Of course he believes every word you say.’