THE THEATRE. 



301 



scene of any ; but altogether it was a puerile exhibi- 

 tion, and the better classes, among whom was my fair 

 countrywoman, regarded it merely as an occasion for 

 meeting acquaintances. 



In the evening we went to the theatre, which opened 

 for the first time. A large building had been com- 

 menced in the city, but in one of the revolutions it had 

 been demolished, and the work was abandoned. The 

 performance was in the courtyard of a house. The 

 stage was erected across one of the corners ; the patio 

 was the pit, and the corridor was divided by temporary 

 partitions into boxes ; the audience sent beforehand, or 

 servants brought with them, their own seats. We had 

 invitations to the box of Senor Vidaury. Carrera was 

 there, sitting on a bench a little elevated against the 

 wall of the house, and at the right hand of Rivera Paz, 

 the chief of the state. Some of his officers were with 

 him in their showy uniforms, but he had laid his aside, 

 and had on his black bombazet jacket and pantaloons, 

 and was very unpretending in his deportment. I con- 

 sidered him the greatest man in Guatimala, and made 

 it a point to shake hands with him in passing. The 

 first piece was Saide, a tragedy. The company con- 

 sisted entirely of Guatimaltecos, and their performance 

 was very good. There was no change of scenery ; 

 when the curtain fell, all lighted cigars, ladies included, 

 and, fortunately, there was an open courtyard for the 

 escape of the smoke. When the performance was over, 

 the boxes waited till the pit was emptied. Special care 

 had been taken in placing sentinels, and all went home 

 quietly. 



During the week there was an attempt at gayety, but 

 all was more or less blended with religious solemnities. 

 One was that of the Novena, or term of nine days' 



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