Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/159

Rh of the building at once attracts the eye: it is composed of massive silver, and completely covered with elaborately chased ornaments in solid gold. The space around this altar is enclosed by an extensive balustrade of gold and silver pillars, four feet high, and about four inches thick, with a hand-rail seven inches wide, having sculptured images, stationed at intervals upon its surface. The cathedral contains about three hundred feet of this balustrade, and the precious metals of which it is composed are but little alloyed with copper.

The cathedral at Puebla, also, is scarcely inferior in grandeur to that of the capital. It is elevated several feet above the level of the square in which it is situated; so that its appearance is most commanding. On the right side of the altar is an image of the Virgin Mary, nearly as large as the life, in a dress of richly embroidered satin. A crown of gold encircles her shining forehead, studded with emeralds of large size; strings of pearl hang from her neck midway to the ground; and her girdle is a perfect chain of diamonds and brilliants. The gold and silver candelabra that surround the altar platform, are so massive that it is almost impossible to remove them.