Altamirano and Riva Palacio stood beside Prieto and Ramirez in their glorification of re publican Mexico. The most popular work of the former, who was a full-blooded Indian, is and Legends.' Palacio, who was a noted republican general, filled many high public offices. He was a successful dramatist, poet, novelist, critic and writer of short stories, legends and political articles. With Palacio and Altamirano may be classed Pe6n y Contre ras and Juan A. Mateos, who both dug deeply into the rich mine of national life and re counted the glories of Mexico. Novels, lyrics, narrative poems, dramas poured from the pen of Po% y Contreras as if by magic; for sev eral years he held the centre of the stage in the national capital where his dramas were wonder fully popular; while at the same time his met rical romances were read with avidity through out the length and breadth of the land. 'Unto Heaven,' a drama produced in 1876, may be said to have made him famous over night. This was followed by many other dramas, which were produced in the capital as fast as the author could turn them out. Several of these were also successfully presented on the Madrid stage. Mateos, who has strong imagi nation, intensely oratorical, form and wonder ful facility of expression, naturally turned to the drama; and the capital welcomed him as it had already welcomed Peon y Contreras; and he wrote at the bidding of the public drama after drama, most of which were successful. Ireneo Paz also wrote successful dramas and comedies and the Mexican capital welcomed him too; and when Chavero came along and repeated the act, he also was received with open arms. Thus Mexico City became the cen tre of a strong dramatic movement, in some ways superior to the great dramatic movement that produced the autos and religious and other dramas of the previous centuries. These 19th century Mexican dramatists were all men of many parts. Mateos was his country's great est romancer and historical novelist, Chavero was archaeologist, epic poet, historian and critic of the first rank, while Paz was journalist, po litical writer, novelist, historian and humorist. Meliseo Morales wrote good lyrical dramas which were staged in Italy; and he translated popular Italian operas into Spanish for Span ish playhouses. Icazbalceta and Pimentel worked together. The former dug into the countless records of the past of America hid den in the many libraries of the republic and gave to light a long list of valuable documents for the history of Mexico. He also wrote much good original matter along the same line, a 'Political History of the Indies,' 'Mexico in 1554,> 'Mexican Biography of the Sixteenth Century,' 'Zumarraga,' a 'Dictionary of Mex ican Provincialisms' and 'Mexican Physicians of the Sixteenth Century.' Pimentel worked in the same library and produced, among other works, the best History of Mexican Litera ture' extant.
Rosas Moreno disputes with Lizardi the honor of being the most successful Mexican writer of fables. His work •as become a classic in Spain. Ruiz. an excellent raconteur of legends; Ortiz, a fair poet and novelist, and Rivera, a voluminous historian, may be said to complete this period, though the latter lived on into the 20th century and was the nation's hon ored guest at the opening of the National Uni versity in 1910. His long life of tireless and ceaseless literary activity enabled Rivera to produce over 100 histories, critical works and booklets. Ruiz is best known by his 'Legends of Michoacan' and 'Traditions and Legends.'
The connecting link between the literary ac tivity of the Diaz regime (1876-1910) and that of the preceding years of the life of the repub lic is Manuel Acufia (1849-73) who. notwith standing his short life and tragic death, ex ercised a wonderful influence upon the poets who followed him. He was endowed with vivid imagination and a strong literary and poetic sense which reminds one somewhat of Pot Ignacio Montes de Oca (1840—). Manuel G11 tierrez Najara (1850-95), Salvador DM Mir& (1853—), Juan de Dios Peza (1E 1909), Manuel Jose Othon (1851-1908), Lnk G. Urbina (1868--) and Justo Sierra 1911) are all names that shed lustre on Men can literature. Flores is an epic bard with strong histrionic and dramatic talent Gutier rez, Najara and Sierra are both excellect poets and writers of talent in other fields, ad °them and Urbina are among the most pope lar singers of the present century in Mew) But of the writers of the Diaz regime, Pen s by far the best and most popular. He puts fished three dramas, 'A Love Affair,' 'A Real Home' and 'Columbus' which became popuhr But it is his simple, heartfelt, almost homey poems that made him the literary lion of tit Mexican capital. Among these are 'Songs it the Hearthstone,' 'The Arrow of Low,' 'Home and Country,' 'Flowers of the Soul,' 'Memories and Hopes,' 'Monologues and Songs of Heroes,' Mexican Traditions,' The Mexican Lyre,' 'The Harp of our Native Land' and 'Legends of the Streets of Mex ico.' Miron, who is called the poet of poem. has great breadth of imagination, a deep sense of the beauty of rhythm and imagery and de cided lyrical talent. Carlos H. Serail made comedy and native vaudeville popular in Mexico_ Modern Literature.— The period of the Diaz administration was prolific in writers ci talent in every line of literary endeavor, to such an extent that even a cursory review of Om activities would far overpass the limits of this article. Antonio Zaragoza is the author it several volumes of fervid lyrical poetry. Fran cisco F. Icaza, whose work is chaste and clas sical in form, has been welcomed in Spain. a> at home. Jose M. Bustillos has taken up the song., of the glories of the Mexican race an?. has gone back to the days of the Indian em pires for many of his plots and char acters. 'Rocks of the Lake' is his best work Zayas Enriquez, biographer, historian, poet an essayist, is a talented but not over-conseientioui writer. Enrique Fernandez Granados, corm: in style, artistic in temperament and classical it aims, has published two volumes of excelkm poetry, 'Myrtles' and 'Daisies' and made ex cellent translations of Italian poetry into Span ish. Joaquin D. Casasus (1858-1916) and Julio Guerrero are distinguished writers on politica: and social subjects. Casasus also did other good literary work and translated Longfellow's 'Evangeline' and Horace's 'Odes' into Span ish verse. Guerrero's 'Genesis of Crime lo Mexico' is an illuminating analysis of Mexicat character, conditions, customs and tendencies Juan Jose Tablado, Oriental in the richness of his imagination and the depth of coloring be imparts to his images, has the true lyric rim. He and Jesas Valenzuela and Amado Nero form a trio of brilliant young newspaper men who have found warm welcome in all Latin American countries and in Spain herself. Bal bino Davalos has published a book of poem n and made excellent translations into Spanish from English and French; but his work has less imagination than that of the trio above mentioned.