182 
GUATEMALA. 
ciently, but the decoration was plain, and not attractive. 
The parquette was occupied almost exclusively by gen¬ 
tlemen, who gazed serenely at the ladies in the boxes 
which surround this, and were gazed upon in turn in a 
way that would scandalize even a Boston audience. The 
wife of the President, a lady of great personal beauty, 
was pointed out to us; and we were assured that it was 
not improper to stare at her, even with glasses. In all 
such places the audience always claims quite as much of 
my attention as the stage; and among the boxes I 
noticed an elderly lady of decidedly American appearance, 
and I fancied she might be the distinguished Madame 
Susannah Penol, to whom I had letters. A few days 
later, as I was ushered into her reception-room, I saw at 
once that I was not mistaken; for on the wall was a 
capital portrait of the lady I had seen. 
Our hotel proved a most wretched one ; the comida 
was poor in quality and insufficient in quantity. A 
ballet-dancer and her pet dog took most of the best bits 
as the various dishes were passed among the company. 
Our host proved much the same sort as we had met at 
Quiche ; and we were compelled to move to the Gran 
Hotel, which we found very comfortable. 
On Sunday the correct course is to see a .cock-fight in 
the forenoon, a bull-fight in the afternoon, and to go to 
church and wash up in the evening. We varied the pro¬ 
gramme, and in the morning visited the Chief of Police, 
Colonel Pratt (formerly of New York), from whom we 
learned many points of interest in the municipal regula¬ 
tion of this city. The Cemeterio, or Campo Santo, next 
claimed our attention, where we found catacombs partly 
underground and lighted by a clerestory. Several very 
