Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/173

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 Visit to the house of a priest.—Its situation and appearance.—Equipage in waiting.—The azotea, or flat roof.—Priest's daughters.—Furniture of apartment.—Father Perez.—Priestly interrogations.—Unintentional offence.—Rude expulsion.

entrusted with a communication, from a friend in a distant city, to Father Perez de Hermona, an ecclesiastic residing in Puebla, where I was staying, it was not without a lively feeling of curiosity that I looked forward to the necessary interview.

The father's house was in the pleasantest part of the city, at a considerable distance from the manufactories; it was approached by an avenue of luxuriant trees, and the painted balconies filled with flowers, with the shrubs trained against the parti-coloured walls, gave it an air of brightness and loveliness.