210 



INCIDENTS OP TRAVEL. 



cumstance to show the utter feebleness of the admin- 

 istration, and the wretched condition of the country 

 generally. It troubled me on one account, as it showed 

 the difficulty and danger of prosecuting the travels I 

 had contemplated. 



From the moment of my arrival I was struck with 

 the devout character of the city of Guatimala. At 

 matins and vespers the churches were all open, and the 

 people, particularly the women, went regularly to 

 prayers. Every house had its figure of the Virgin, 

 the Saviour, or some tutelary saint, and on the door 

 were billets of paper with prayers. " La verdadera 

 sangre de Cristo, nuestro redentor que solo represen- 

 tada en Egipto libro a los Israelitas de un brazo fuerte 

 y poderoso, libre nos de la peste, guerra, y muerte re- 

 pentina. Amen." The true blood of Christ our Re- 

 deemer, which alone, exhibited in Egypt, freed the Is- 

 raelites from a strong and powerful arm, deliver us from 

 pestilence, war, and sudden death. Amen." 



" O Maria, concebida sin pecado, rogad por noso- 

 tros, que recurrimos a vos." " O Virgin, conceived 

 without sin, pray for us, that we may have recourse to 

 thee." 



" Ave Maria, gracia plena, y la santissima Trinidad 

 nos favorezca." " Hail Mary, full of grace, and may 

 the Holy Spirit favour us." 



*' El dolce nombre de Jesus, 

 Sea con nosotros. Amen." 



On the first Sunday after my arrival was celebrated 

 the fete of La Concepcion, a fete always honoured in 

 the observances of the Catholic Church, and this day 

 more important from the circumstance that a probation- 

 er in the convent of La Concepcion intended to take 

 the black veil. At break of day the church bells rang 



