82 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



tion :— he will find himself removed to the 

 period of our Henrys and Edwards, not only 

 in the style of building of those times, but 

 even in the similarity of customs and manners; 

 the same religion and ceremonies, the same 

 observance of holydays, with the religious 

 processions that at once were the solace and 

 amusement of our ancestors, prevail here at 

 this day. In the churches he will see (as 

 though the work of yesterday) the same pro- 

 fusion of sculpture, painting, and gilding, 

 which is now only to be found in the 

 fragments of our most ancient temples. The 

 statues, balustrades, candlesticks, candela- 

 bras, &c. of massive gold and silver, which 

 have long disappeared in England, are here 

 in daily use, and the very dresses and ac- 

 coutrements of the country gentlemen strongly 

 remind us of the period of the discovery of 

 America, the costumes having undergone 

 very little alteration from their first introduc- 



