"The purser smuggled him on shore disguised as a coal-heaver, and Diaz reached Oajaca in safety. After his elevation to the Presidency one of the first things he did was to appoint that purser a consul to represent Mexico at a French seaport, and afterwards gave him the consulship at San Francisco.
"The Oajaca revolution was successful; Lerdo, who was then (1876) President, was driven out of the country, and there was a very disturbed state of affairs for a time. It ended in the election of Diaz as President; he held the office from May, 1877, till November, 1880, when he was succeeded by President Gonzales, the Constitution then in force, and originally proposed by Diaz, forbidding the President to succeed himself. He succeeded Gonzales in 1884 for a second term of four years; in 1887 the Constitution was modified so as to permit the President to serve for a third term, and in consequence of this modification he was again elected in that year. On the 1st of December, 1888, he took the oath of office, in accordance with the Constitutional provisions, and began his third term, which will expire December 1, 1892.
"There you have a personal history boiled down. President Diaz is a thorough believer in general education, and in railways, telegraphs, and other modern enterprises; in this belief he has been bitterly opposed by the Reactionary party, which is principally composed of the old aristocracy. In his first term concessions were granted for the construction of railways by American companies, and other concessions have been made since that time. One writer who is not particularly friendly to the President says: 'Under the administration of Diaz manufactures have increased, the resources of the country have been developed, commerce has multiplied, education has been advanced, the revenues have been appropriated to the purposes for which they were designed, travel is safe, bandits have been dispersed, and railroads and telegraphs are extending.' And from all we can learn this is by no means an overstatement of the case."
For the benefit of his young lady friends at home Fred added to Frank's sketch that President Diaz had been twice married, his present wife being the daughter of Hon. Romero Rubio, Secretary of the Interior. She is said to be a beauty of the brunette type, charming in manners, an accomplished linguist, speaking several languages, of which English is one, and an exquisite judge of feminine apparel. Her dresses are made by Worth, the famous man-milliner of Paris, and therefore she may justly be considered the leader of fashion in the capital of Mexico. Her duties are less onerous than those of the wife of the President of the United States, as there are no receptions similar to those of the White House, and consequently the Mexican capital is free from the social ferment which is constantly going on at Washington.
HOUSE WITH TILE FRONT.
Doctor Bronson added a note to the effect that there was a considerable amount of diplomacy in the marriage of President Diaz with his present wife. Her father was one of the leaders of the Church party, and the marriage strengthened Diaz with the Conservatives by making them less hostile to him and his policy; the party was further conciliated when Señor Rubio became Secretary of the Interior, and other members of the old opposition were provided with places under the Government. But though the hostility of the Church party has been diminished it still exists; its leaders are ready to take advantage of any mistake of the Government, and if they could again obtain control they would speedily overthrow the present Constitution, whose authority they have never acknowledged.
"The hostility of the two political parties in Mexico to each other," added the Doctor, "is far greater than that between the two great parties of the United States. The Liberal party in Mexico believes in general education, in the construction of railways, the encouragement of manufacturing and other commercial enterprises, and a complete separation of Church and State. The Clerical party believes in the condition of affairs which existed before 1858, in a union of Church and State, and the control of education by the Church, and it has been a steady and consistent opponent of the railways that connect Mexico with the United States. It looks with alarm upon the present influx of foreigners and the adoption of their ideas by the Mexicans. It is proper to add that this alarm is shared by many adherents of the Liberal party, who fear that their country is being denationalized, and will some day be gathered into the fold of the United States."