Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/274

266 in white, the white coffin exposed to the glare of day and the gaze of the populace, the horses with nodding plumes driven by a spruce young man in conventional uniform, and the car containing the "mourners" gliding smoothly over the rails. The price for service is graduated to suit the taste and necessity of every one, being from above one hundred dollars down to as low as three, depending upon the number of horses, equipment of the hearse, and number and livery of attendants.

Of the many churches in the city, all equally attractive in their internal decoration, no one is more so from its exterior ornamentation than that of San Hypolito, not far from the Panteon. It was rebuilt in 1599, where, it is said, Cortes once had a hermitage, in commemoration of the expulsion of the Spaniards from the city. On the corner of the wall enclosing the church is a carving in stone, representing an eagle flying away with an Indian. Whether it is intended to convey the