. A white umbrella in Mexico. behind which stood the ruins of abelfry, the broken bell still clinging to therotting roof timber. Adjoining this was acrumbling archway without door or hinge. This forlorn entrance opened into thegrounds of the once powerful establish-ment of San Francisco, closed and inruins since 1740. Beyond this archwaystood another, protected by a heavy double igS A White Umhrella in Mexico iron grating, which once swung wide to letpass the splendid pageants of the time, now rust - in-crusted, andhalf buried inthe ground. Once inside,the transitionwas was ag
. A white umbrella in Mexico. behind which stood the ruins of abelfry, the broken bell still clinging to therotting roof timber. Adjoining this was acrumbling archway without door or hinge. This forlorn entrance opened into thegrounds of the once powerful establish-ment of San Francisco, closed and inruins since 1740. Beyond this archwaystood another, protected by a heavy double igS A White Umhrella in Mexico iron grating, which once swung wide to letpass the splendid pageants of the time, now rust - in-crusted, andhalf buried inthe ground. Once inside,the transitionwas was agreat gardenor orchardplanted witholive trees ofenormous size,their tops stillalive, and theirtrunks seamedand gnarledwith the storms of three and a half cen-turies, beneath which lie buried not onlythe great dignitaries of the Church, butmany of the allies and chiefs of Cortez inthe times of the Tarascan chieftancy. On one side of this orchard is thechapel of the Tercer Order and the Hos-pital and the convent church, now the. T:(tnt;(untian and the Titian igg parrbqiiia. We crossed between the treesand waited outside the convent buildingat the foot of a flight of stone steps, builtalong an angle of a projection and lead-ing to the second floor of the steps were crowded with Indians,as was also the passageway within, wait-ing for an audience with the parish priest,whose apartments were above. Nothing can adequately describe thedilapidation of this entrance and its sur-roundings. The steps themselves hadbeen smeared over with mortar to holdthem together, the door jambs were lean-ing and ready to fall, the passageway it-self ended in a window which might oncehave held exquisite panels of stainedglass, but which was now open to the ele-ments save where it was choked up withadobe bricks laid loosely in courses. Therooms opening into it were tenantless,and infested with lizards and bats, andthe whole place inside and out was fastsuccumbing to a decay which seemed tohav
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherbostonhoughtonmiff
