Page:Guatimala or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8.pdf/78

Rh women busily employed in this manner, and most industriously rubbing the piece of cloth they wish to clean, against a stone, a plan which is universally pursued, although manifestly to the speedy destruction of the article undergoing the operation. But like many other good housewives, the Guatimalian ladies have their prejudices, and will not be persuaded that hot water is preferable to cold, and would remove the necessity of such rough treatment.

The houses of the respectable citizens are well built, and commodiously arranged. A description of one will give an idea of the rest. Let us enter then at that great folding door, looking like an inn gate, with blank walls on each side. We open it, and immediately find ourselves in a large square court-yard, in the middle of which is an orange-tree in full bloom. All around it is a covered walk or piazza, raised about a foot from the ground, the roof supported by wooden pillars. Under this piazza are seven or eight doors, leading into different apartments, each one having an interior communication with the rest, and all of course on the ground floor, stairs being almost unknown in Guatimala. The first room will probably be a common chamber, the next a sala or drawing-room, furnished with ten or a dozen antique chairs, an old fashioned settee, with a slip of mat before it for a carpet, and two small