400 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



neatly dressed. In the whole crowd there was not a 

 single garment that was not clean that day, and we 

 were told that any Indian too poor to appear in a fitting 

 dress that morning would be too proud to appear at 

 all. The Indian women were really handsome ; all 

 were dressed in white, with a red border around the 

 neck, sleeves, and hem of their garments, and their 

 faces had a mild, contented, and amiable expression ; 

 the higher class were seated under the arbours before 

 the doors of the houses and along the corridors, elegant- 

 ly attired, without hats, and with veils or flowers in their 

 hair, combining an elegance of appearance with simpli- 

 city of manners that made almost a scene of poetic 

 beauty ; and they had an air of gayety and freedom 

 from disquietude, so different from the careworn faces 

 of Guatimala, that they seemed as if what God intend- 

 ed them to be, happy. In fact, at this place it would 

 have been no hardship to comply with the condition 

 of purchasing Palenque ; and yet perhaps some of the 

 effect of this strong impression was only the result of 

 comparison. 



After the procession Don Joaquim proposed to call 

 either upon the bishop or a lady who had a beautiful 

 daughter. The bishop was the greatest man in Merida, 

 and lived in the greatest style ; but, determined to make 

 the best of our day in Merida, Ave chose the other branch 

 of the alternative. In the evening, however, we called 

 upon him. His palace was adjoining the Cathedral, 

 and before the door was a large cross ; the entrance 

 was through a courtyard with two rows of corridors. 

 We ascended to a second flight, and entered an ante- 

 room, where we were received by a well-dressed offi- 

 cial, who notified the bishop of our coming, and shortly 



