a man would satisfy us. But we were not to see anything of the kind; and after the bulls had trotted about the Plaza until half-past five, the show was over, and the unsatisfied audience dispersed. What would a Roman audience have done in the Flavian amphitheatre, had their wild-beast propensities been thus excited and disappointed? So far as the City of Guatemala is concerned, the bull-fight is growing unfashionable, and even with the populace such uninteresting shows cannot long attract. The Guatemaltecans should import some of the fashionable "Cribb Clubs" of our Northern cities, if they still wish to see human blood flow. At present there is more brutality in the sparring exhibitions of Boston than in the bull-fights of the Central American city.

Our day was not yet ended; and as we crossed the Plaza in the evening, on returning from a call on a friend, we found the pavement crowded with people and dotted with little fires, over which various Indios were cooking doughnuts, fritters, and chocolate. The fritters were eaten with plenty of honey, and were very palatable.

Another night we had an opportunity to see one of the religious processions so common in former days, — afterwards prohibited by law, but now occasionally allowed, as there is little danger of a renewal of the priestly power, and these spectacles please the priests, women, and children. This particular one, which we attended in part, was in honor of "Nuestra Señora de Guadeloupe." A huge doll, all lace and tinsel, was carried through the streets with music, flowers, and fireworks. It was a miracle that the image was not set on fire, especially when the "toro," all blazing with squibs and Roman candles, ran through the crowd; but no accident befell, so far as I knew. I

am somewhat confused as to the person the image represented, but was told that she was visiting the holy lady (santissima señora) who lived in the church to which the procession marched. On arriving at the door the visitor was obliged to tip over and go in head first in a horizontal position. It was no doubt all right, but it seemed so utterly undignified that we did not care to go into the church and see how she got up again.

At the hippodrome in the plain of Yocotenango, to which the horse-cars run from the grand Plaza, horse-races are held in May, August, and November, at which times prizes are offered by the Government and the Sociedad Zootecnica.

It was interesting to see how the State had occupied the buildings of the banished or suppressed communities. In the Franciscan convent was the Revenue and Customs Bureau; the Post-Office occupied the church and convent of the Third Order (of St. Francis); the Treasury and Telegraphs divide the fine house formerly the home of the suppressed Sociedad Económica; and the Bureau of Liquors and Tobacco holds the splendid building of the Dominican friars. Other of the confiscated edifices are used as schools, and are most admirably suited to the purpose. There are eight elementary schools for boys, and ten for girls; two finishing schools or academies for each sex; six night-schools for artisans and others; and two asylums, which collect in the morning the young children of poor parents, instruct and feed them, and return them at night to their homes. There are two establishments for secondary instruction, one for each sex, directed by foreign professors and well installed; one is the Instituto Nacional, already mentioned. All these institutions are supported

by the Government, much of the system being due to the enlightened policy of General Barrios. Provided for special instruction, and also supported in the same way, are the Technical School (Escuela de Artes y Oficios), well provided with laboratories and steam-power; the Agricultural College, with fields near the city for practical work; a Business School, with night sessions for clerks; a Law School, Medical School (Medicina y Farmacia), Normal School, Polytechnic Institute, and School of Design; besides many schools supported by private means.

Benevolent institutions, too, are not wanting, - among them the Asylum for Orphans and Invalids; the Central Hospital, where four hundred patients are cared for daily; and the Military Hospital in the suburbs. The Penitentiary seems to be well conducted, and the House of Correction has extensive workshops, in which good work is done: No less than twenty public fountains and washingplaces adorn and keep the city clean.

All business is not conducted in the shops, which are small, and seldom make much display; but there are two markets, one of which, the Nacional, is very extensive, and seems to contain within its bounds merchandise of every sort, -in one place pottery, in another fruit; saddlery and cloths, confectionery and hardware, bread and guns, are close at hand. The prices are high, even of the necessaries of life; and the cheapest things were pottery and nets, both of Indian manufacture. It was not a little amusing to remember that the great retail stores of Boston were imitating the variety-shops of this uncommercial city, and collecting within their walls all kinds of goods, from shoes to hats, from dinner-sets to carpets, from stoves to books. The country variety

As

stores of New England are outdone in both cases. almost everywhere else, it is expected that the purchaser will try to beat down the price. Among the curiosities of the market we found native jackets (guepiles) made in the simplest manner, but embroidered with the greatest labor and most barbaric fancy of color and form. These the women take great pride in; and the showy garments cloak many deficiencies in the rest of the wardrobe.

CHAPTER VII.

EAR

GUATEMALA TO ESQUIPULAS.

ARLY one morning Frank and I rode out of the city and up hill to an elevation of twelve hundred feet, passing the aqueduct and getting several fine views of the capital,- better in some respects than the view from the Cerro del Carmen; for now the two volcanoes were clear. As the road was excellent, and our animals were in thorough trim, we both got more enjoyment in the saddle than from almost any other mode of sight-seeing. We were leaving the volcanoes of Antigua; but Pacaya was before us, and we had entered a distinctly volcanic

Pacaya, Fuego, Agua.

region. We passed several small villages, in one of which we breakfasted on honey and tortillas. Cerro Redondo is a

small hamlet of perhaps a thousand inhabitants, whose chief occupation is coffee-culture. The "round hill" which gives the name is a small, very regular volcanic cone,one of a number less regular extending towards the Pacific coast. Here in the road-cut were black volcanic sands and plenty of vesicular lava. As the daylight waned, we met men, women, and children coming from their day's work in the cafétal, and a contented, happy company they