. A white umbrella in Mexico. a manana isthe motto of the Spanish-speaking race. It was now twelve oclock. Only fivehours to wait. My hopes rose. I reen-tered the cathedral. It had been a sumptuous church in itsday. Begun in 1612, completed one hun- The Old Chair at Zacatecas 8^ dred and twenty-five years later, and dedi-cated with imposing ceremonies the yearfollowing, it had contained within its wallsall that florid magnificence which distin-guishes the Mexicanchurches. All theinterior adornmentshad been of platedgilt, the altars of finemarble and onyx, thefont of solid silver,— alone valued
. A white umbrella in Mexico. a manana isthe motto of the Spanish-speaking race. It was now twelve oclock. Only fivehours to wait. My hopes rose. I reen-tered the cathedral. It had been a sumptuous church in itsday. Begun in 1612, completed one hun- The Old Chair at Zacatecas 8^ dred and twenty-five years later, and dedi-cated with imposing ceremonies the yearfollowing, it had contained within its wallsall that florid magnificence which distin-guishes the Mexicanchurches. All theinterior adornmentshad been of platedgilt, the altars of finemarble and onyx, thefont of solid silver,— alone valued attwenty thousandpounds noble steps ofcolored marble, stillintact, led the way tothe altar. On eachside ran a raiHng ofwrought silver of fab-ulous worth. Over this had hung a lampof splendid proportions, burning a singletaper, and shedding a ruby light. Themain floor was of marquetry of variedcolored woods, and of a simple Moorishpattern, marking the prominence of thatSpanish taste which at the period charac-. 84 A White Umbrella in Mexico terized so many of the great colonialstructures. But sad changes had taken place sincethat date, most of them within the lastquarter of this century. Not only had thesuperb silver altar-rail, hanging lamp, andcostly font been coined down into Mexi-can dollars, but tapestries and velvets,chasubles and copes, heavy with embroid-ery in gold and silver, had also foundtheir way to the crucible. Even the in-tricate marquetry floor had been brokenup, presumably in the search for hiddenvessels, and in its place here and therewere great squares of heavy plankingheld down by rude iron spikes, the headsthrust up and kept bright by the restlessfeet of countless worshippers. The leaders of an impecunious govern-ment executing a forced loan do not stopat trifles like these ! As I wandered about, comparing itspresent shabby surroundings with the rec-ord of its past grandeur, groups of peni-tents would glide in, throw their rebozosfrom their
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherbostonhoughtonmiff
