98 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



its present dilapidated condition, this college 

 gives a grand idea of the wealth of the sup- 

 pressed order, the most learned and enlight- 

 ened portion of the Catholic clergy. 



The apartments of the fathers, when the 

 institution was in its prosperity, had been laid 

 out in a similar manner to those now existing 

 in Rome, consisting of two rooms, the one a 

 library, containing some works of science, and 

 a small collection of botany, mineralogy, and 

 conchology : the other, which was appropriated 

 to the general purposes of life, was neatly and 

 comfortably furnished. 



Each of the fathers was formerly attended 

 in silence by two young students, who by their 

 demeanour showed the veneration in which 

 they held their instructors, whilst the superior 

 generally spoke to them in the affectionate 

 style of a parent. 



We then visited the church and monastery 

 of St. Augustine, one of the first class, with a 



v 



