"If they had been in a more northerly climate," said Frank, "it is probable that the Mexicans would be more advanced than we find them. Their location in the tropics has not been to their advantage. The opening of our railways will connect them with northern climes, and if we can fill the Valley of Mexico with our atmosphere it may enable them to breathe quicker than they do now."
A CHARCOAL PEDDLER.
The attention of the youths was turned from the elevation and atmosphere to some of the customs of the country, which they had learned from their guide or from others. They were told that it was estimated that about one-fifth the population was in household or domestic service in one form or another, directly or indirectly. The direct form would include those attached to a household, the indirect those who supply water, wood, charcoal, and other necessities of life, or perform outside work for families or individuals. The wages are low, but a great many servants are employed, so that the aggregate foots up to a large amount.
"There are from ten to twenty servants employed in a house," wrote Fred, "and we are told that large establishments will have thirty or even more. It is very much here as we found it in India—a great number of people, each with an allotted thing to do, and a servant would risk losing his place rather than do anything that belonged to another.
"Here's a list," he added, "that I have copied from the description of a Mexican household by an American visitor: portero, door-keeper; cochero, coachman; lacayo, footman; caballerango, hostler; mozo, man of all sorts of work; cargador, public carrier; camarista, chamber-man in a hotel, or valet in a private house; recamerera, chamber-maid in a private house; ama de llaves, house-keeper, 'mistress of the keys;' cocinera, cook; galopina, kitchen girl; pilmana, nurse-maid.
"There are other servants, such as the molendera, the woman who grinds the corn (for making tortillas); the costurera, sewing-woman; or the planchadora, ironing-woman. The most important servant is the portero, who has general charge of the house, and sometimes of a large building in which several families live. He is the exact counterpart of the German door-keeper, and, like him, generally lives with his family in a narrow retreat, which is situated so that he can command the entrance and observe who comes in or goes out. Servants do not change places as often as in England or the United States. It is by no means rare for them to spend their entire lives with a family; their parents before them served it, and their children will do so when they themselves are gone.
"The cook receives from two to five dollars a month, and chamber-maids and seamstresses the same. The men-servants are paid from ten dollars a month upwards, and out of their wages they are required to buy part of their food, and in some cases all of it. At least this is the theory, though the practice is that the employer really supports them, though indirectly. Servants are nearly always in debt to their employers, and this state of affaire is encouraged by law, as they are not allowed to leave a place as long as they are in debt. The only way in which this can be done is for the employer to assume the debt, pay the creditor, and then collect the amount by holding back a portion of the servant's wages each month till the obligation is discharged."