“It is long before a stranger even suspects the state of morals in this country, for, whatever be the private conduct of individuals, the most perfect decorum prevails in outward behavior. But indolence is the mother of vice. They rarely gossip to strangers about their neighbors’ faults. Habit has rendered them tolerably indifferent as to the liaisons subsisting among particular friends, and as long as a woman attends church regularly, is a patroness of charitable institutions, and gives no scandal by her outward behavior, she may do pretty much as she pleases. As for flirtations in public, they are unknown.”[322]
The present amiability of the Mexican ladies is admitted on all hands, as is the genial warmth of their manner. Some travelers, indeed, and among them Mr. Waddy Thompson, are of opinion that this is attributed to them as a fault, and that the reproach of unchastity is unjustly urged against them, as there is no city in Europe where there is less immorality. The constant presence of a duenna, and the house-porter, who is an appurtenance of every household of respectability, are excellent checks on immorality. But this would rather argue the necessity of a safeguard not found in the female virtue of Mexico. Besides, these appendages of rank have lost their real meaning, and the duenna may be converted into the convenient cloak or abettor of an intrigue, the more safe as she is the supposed protectress of the husband’s honor. A native writer, in summing up the character of his countrymen, says that “they are moderate in eating, but their passion for liquor is carried to the greatest excess. The affection which husbands bear their wives is certainly much less than that borne by wives to their husbands, and it is very common for the men to love their neighbors’ wives better than their own.”[323] This one-sided censure presupposes, as a necessary consequence, that the neighbors’ wives must show some reciprocity.
The general immorality of the lower classes in Mexico would almost exclude the expectation of a system of prostitution, as we usually understand the term. Puebla, a manufacturing town near Mexico, is summarily described as having a most devout female population, and a most abandoned one; but this is matter of conduct rather than of calling. The enumeration of offenses in the justice list of Mexico does not tell of one prostitute, although it contains a large number of persons guilty of “incontinence.” The exact meaning of this offense, in its legal and technical sense, is not given us, but we presume it relates to improper and disgusting practices. The charge of “violation of public decency,” although it may relate to mutual familiarities, will probably include both indecency and immorality.
The following table gives the number of persons arrested in the city of Mexico in 1851.
| Offenses. | Males. | Females. | Total. |
| Drunkenness | 1256 | 1944 | 3200 |
| Affrays and wounds | 728 | 246 | 974 |
| Incontinence | 354 | 403 | 757 |
| Violations of public decency | 311 | 318 | 629 |
| Robbery | 384 | 120 | 504 |
| Suspicion of robbery | 180 | 84 | 264 |
| Carrying weapons | 209 | 85 | 294 |
| Picking pockets | 120 | 25 | 145 |
| False pretenses | 39 | 17 | 56 |
| Breaking prison | 36 | ... | 36 |
| Murder | 15 | 3 | 18 |
| Total | 3632 | 3245 | 6877 |
Among a population of inferior intellect, and with the excess of women always to be found in tropical countries, the character of the priesthood becomes of primary importance. On this particular, some writers are of opinion that what was written in 1677 will apply with almost equal force in the present day; a position certainly open to doubt.[324]
The lower orders of the priests and friars in Mexico are generally uneducated and frequently licentious. The most revolting spectacles of vice and immorality are exhibited by some of them. They are remarkable for the roue appearance they present, but they can not be considered types of the class, for the higher orders and respectable members of the priesthood are exempt from the imputation of such flagrant immorality. Even these are not blameless members of the Church. Many of them have nephews and nieces in their houses, or at least those who call them uncle, but to whom scandal ascribes a closer relationship.
Among the charitable institutions in Mexico, perhaps the most important is the Cuna, or Foundling Hospital. It is supported by private individuals, and the members of the society consist of the first persons in the capital, male and female. The men furnish the money; the women give their time and attention. When a child has been about a month in the hospital, it is sent with an Indian nurse to one of the adjacent villages; but if sick or feeble, it remains in the institution, under the immediate inspection of the society. These nurses are subject to a responsible person, who lives in the village and answers for their good conduct. The child is brought back to the hospital when weaned, and remains in its charge for life. Few, however, are left to grow up in the asylum; they are adopted by respectable persons, who bring them up either as servants or as their own children. In this, as in other institutions of the same character, the mothers of the children often get themselves hired as nurses. There are usually five or six hundred children in this asylum.[325]