180 
GUATEMALA. 
the gateway to its interior courtyard. The corporal in 
charge refused to take my card in, telling several false¬ 
hoods as to the whereabouts of the President his master; 
but at last a superior officer arrived, who at once ordered 
the fellow to take the card, and we were soon ushered, 
without further ceremony, into the bedroom of the Chief 
of the State. It is the custom in this 
O O O country to arrange the chairs in a re- 
0 ception-room on either side of a sofa 
0 0 0 and at right angles to it; and the host 
is expected to sit on the sofa and enter¬ 
tain his guests on either hand. President Barrios occu¬ 
pied this place of honor when I entered; but as we 
conversed he moved about until we sat side by side. 
He had not forgotten our interview at Totonicapan, 
and was affable, seeming to understand our wishes per¬ 
fectly. He said we should have all we asked for, and 
called an officer to conduct us to the Department of the 
Interior, where Senor Lainfiesta, the Secretario de Estado 
en el Despacho de Pomento, also promised to expedite our 
business. Some days later, while discussing the resources 
of Guatemala with the Minister of Foreign Relations, I 
spoke incidentally of the bad arrangement of the Guate¬ 
malan exhibit at Boston in the International Exhibition 
of 1883; whereupon the minister asked me to accompany 
him to the President and acquaint him with the matter. 
We went at once, — simply across the street; and it 
was gratifying to see the stupid soldiers and the inso¬ 
lent corporal jump up and salute the cabinet officer as 
we passed in unannounced. The President’s room was 
full of disorder,—articles of daily use, with books, guitars, 
newspapers, all mixed together. In the courtyard was a 
