Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/379

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ACTORS AND EVENTS IN MEXICAN HISTORY.
373

of himself and wife, and, in the autograph letter, as seen in front of book, bade me God-speed on my homeward journey.

President Diaz is one of the most dignified public men to be seen in any country. He is now about fifty-five years of age, of medium size, and of erect, strikingly military bearing. He has a rich olive complexion, grayish hair, and dark, expressive eyes, which in repose are peculiarly thoughtful and pathetic, but which light up in speaking, and must have flashed with electric fire in battle. His face is martial, even heroic, and his whole bearing expresses strength and confidence in himself and in his people. His manners are most polished and genial, and his conversational gifts exceptionally fine, indicating kindliness and rood feeling and a strong personal magnetism. He is a patriot of the purest order, a statesman, an honest man, and on the Western continent to-day there is not a more brilliant military genius.