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NARRATIVE OF A 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Approach to St. Salvador. — Indians and their Dress. — Arrival at the 

 City. — The " Meson." — The Hospitable Frenchman. — The American 

 Consul. — Description of St. Salvador. — The Market-Place. — The Vice- 

 President. — The Secretary of State. — -A Visit to the Chamber of Depu- 

 ties.— A Ball. — The American Janissary. — Departure. 



It was a delightful morning when we left the village of 

 Apopa for St. Salvador. A serene and cloudless sky of 

 deepest blue was illuminated by the first rays of a reful- 

 gent sun, that rose majestically over the distant moun- 

 tains ; the long shadows of the trees were gradually be- 

 coming less ; and the fresh dew on the grass and on the 

 branches sparkled with the brilliancy of diamonds. The 

 balmy softness of the atmosphere, the warbling of the birds, 

 and the freshness of the breeze that gently breathed on us, 

 inspired the most pleasurable emotions, and we felt happy 

 in the mere consciousness of existence. 



In our progress towards the city, we admired the beauty 

 of the country, and the number and extent of the planta- 

 tions. Several pretty farms, or country residences, with 

 gardens and orchards, attracted my attention. The num- 

 ber of people was also remarkable, as we had been accus- 

 tomed of late to travel many leagues at a time without 

 meeting a human being. But it was Sunday, and the in- 

 habitants of the neighbouring villages, in some of which 

 there is no church, were going to the city to hear mass. 

 They were mostly Indians. Their dress, which, no doubt, 

 was the same as that worn by their ancestors in ages past, 

 was extremely simple, and by no means unbecoming. 

 That of the women was a piece of blue cotton wrapped 

 tound the waist, and reaching only a little below the 



