Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/186

166 found the Plaza crowded with people, flocking from all parts to attend their religious duties: the church, which is large and commodious, and may contain with ease from 400 to 500 people, was, successively, filled by different congregations, until eleven o'clock, when the doors were closed: the Plaza was, now, turned into a complete fair: stalls and booths had been erected in all parts of it; and, on them, were partially displayed, as if by accident, the various goods which the shop-keepers from the capital had come hither to dispose of. Parties of them were cooking their dinners, in gipsy fashion, under the large tree, which, of course, occupied the centre of the square: others were strolling about the beautiful umbrageous lanes which diverged on all sides; or sitting, in merry groups, in the window seats and door-ways of their scanty dwellings. — There was an appearance of life and business, though, in fact, there was nothing doing; so that it was all bustle and vacuity like a bee in an empty bottle.