204 MEXICAN ARCHITECTURE. 



Southern Mexico is celebrated for the magni- 

 ficence and wealth of its churches, New Mexi- 

 co deserves equal fame for poverty-stricken 



and shabby-looking houses of public wor- 

 ship. 



The general plan of the Mexican dwellings 

 is nearly the same everywhere. Whether 

 from motives of pride, or fear of the savages, 

 the wealthier classes have adopted the style 

 of Moorish castles; so that all the larger build- 

 ings have more the appearance of so many 

 dimiimtive fortifications, than of private fa- 

 mily residences. Let me add, however, that 

 whatever may be the roughness of their ex- 

 terior, they are extremely comfortable inside. 

 A tier of rooms on each side of a square, com- 

 prising as many as the convenience of the oc- 

 cupant may require, encompass an open patio 

 or court, with but one door opening into the 

 street, — a huge gate, called L pueria del za- 

 gyan, usually large enough to admit the family 

 coach. The back tier is generally occupied 

 with the cocina, dispensa, granero (kitchen, 

 provision-store, and granary), and other ofiices 

 of the same kind. Most of the apartments, 

 except the winter rooms, open into ihc patio; 

 but the latter are most frequently entered 

 through the sala or hall, which, added to the 

 thickness of their walls and roofs, renders 

 them dehghtfully warm during the cold sea- 

 son, while they are perfectly cool and agreeable 

 in summer. In fact, hemmed in as these 

 apartments are with nearly three feet of earth, 

 they may be said to possess all the pleasant 



