JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 



13 



edly performed.* One actress was lame, another toothless ; 

 but for this I was compensated by the "Bolero," which 

 succeeded the play, and was danced to the accompani- 

 ment of castanets with considerable grace and skill. 



The square in front of the Governor's house, called the 

 Plaza de Armas, is one of the handsomest in the city. It 

 is ornamented with fountains, grass-plats, and flower-bor- 

 ders ; the walks are flagged ; and in the centre is a statue 

 of the late King of Spain. There are fountains well sup- 

 plied with water in other parts of the city ; and I could 

 not help reflecting, how desirable the introduction of those 

 noble and salutary ornaments would be in the United 

 States, in lieu of our vulgar pumps. The Plaza just men- 

 tioned is much resorted to in the evenings ; and numbers 

 of persons of all classes may be seen there, sitting, or walk- 

 ing about, and, while they enjoy the cool breeze, listening 

 to the music of military bands, that perform there three or 

 four times in the course of the week. 



In the suburbs, near the theatre, is a public walk of great 

 resort, called the Paseo de Tacon. It consists of three ex- 

 tensive alleys: the central and widest one for carriages; the 

 two lateral ones for foot passengers. The latter are shaded 



* The Pastelero de Madrigal is an historical personage, and has been 

 made the subject of two Spanish plays, both of considerable merit, but 

 differing in their story of the principal character. In the play I saw, he 

 is represented, like Demetrius in Russia, as assuming to be Don Sebas- 

 tian, King of Portugal, who had been lost in Africa, though the fact of 

 his death had not been ascertained. Having acquainted himself with 

 many circumstances relating to the lost king, he succeeds, by affecting 

 an air of mystery, by a certain dignity of deportment, and, above all, by 

 denying that he is the person he wishes to pass for, in impressing vast 

 numbers with the belief that he is the long-lost sovereign of Portugal. 

 One of his accomplices allows himself to be put to the torture before he 

 confesses that the Pastelero is the distinguished personage just mentioned. 

 In the other play, he appears at the court of Lisbon as the Pope's Nun- 

 cio, presents his credentials in proper form, is duly accredited, conducts a 

 negotiation, serves the interests of his Holiness with all the skill of a con- 

 summate diplomatist, and even nominates to some ecclesiastical dignities, 

 before he is detected. 



