Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/452

446 vast columns and capitals are of Mexican marble, as are all the bases of the altars throughout. Everywhere the precious stones of Mexico give beauty and substantial worth to the interior of the vast pile....It comes down to us from an age which it is probable will not repeat itself....The exterior is not comparable to the interior, though of vast and impressive appearance, and of the universal mixture of Spanish and Moorish architecture, built of hewn granite, and swelling grandly above the surrounding structures."

One who appreciates the ancient in architecture will find ample



scope for the gratification of his taste in Mexico. Wonderful masses of stone are reared with a grand and impressive simplicity, and retain their interest even when stripped by time, change, and decay of all their once florid and gorgeous ornamentation. In the last stage they are pathetic and venerable. In one of our rambles we came suddenly on a convent through which the street had been cut, and high up in the niches and recesses we saw life-sized statues and frescoes of great beauty.

We visited churches and convents, many of which are devoted to hospitals and other secular purposes. At the home of the Methodist missionary, in the old building of the Inquisition, we saw niches built