Page:Mexico, picturesque, political, progressive.djvu/87

Rh prostration. There is no cloud without its silver lining.

The very poor live within four walls of dried mud, on a floor of the same material. Anywhere upon this a fire of mesquite fagots may be kindled, to cook the universal tortilla, which forms almost the sole food of a large class. A few crockery utensils for cooking and eating, a handbrush for sweeping, some water-jars and baskets, perhaps a bundle of maguey fibres for a bed, and the furniture is complete. The zarape is cloak by day, and covering by night; the smoke flies out of open door or four-paned window, as it listeth; the floor is at once chair and table; and that is all, — or rather, it is not all; for with it stay patience, kindliness, and content, three graces hard to account for with such meagre plenishing.

The churches of the country are always a delight in their outer elevations. A strange mixture of the Italian, Moorish, and Gothic, they still preserve a quaint harmony of design, which greatly assists in accenting the picturesque beauty of the country. The loving labor which makes the facades almost invariably exquisite with fine carving, the delicate hues of the softly tinted