There Was
Something Decidedly Striking In Its Appearance:
A number of irregular
buildings, connected with one another, and disposed in the form of
a hollow square, with
A church at one end, rising above the rest,
with a tower containing five belfries, in each of which hung a large
bell, and with immense rusty iron crosses at the tops. Just outside
of the buildings, and under the walls, stood twenty or thirty small
huts, built of straw and of the branches of trees, grouped together,
in which a few Indians lived, under the protection and in the service
of the mission.
Entering a gate-way, we drove into the open square, in which the
stillness of death reigned. On one side was the church; on another,
a range of high buildings with grated windows; a third was a range
of smaller buildings, or offices; and the fourth seemed to be little
more than a high connecting wall. Not a living creature could we
see. We rode twice round the square, in the hope of waking up
some one; and in one circuit, saw a tall monk, with shaven head,
sandals, and the dress of the Grey Friars, pass rapidly through a
gallery, but he disappeared without noticing us. After two circuits,
we stopped our horses, and saw, at last, a man show himself in
front of one of the small buildings. We rode up to him, and found
him dressed in the common dress of the country, with a silver
chain round his neck, supporting a large bunch of keys.
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