He kept them laid out on shelves, which resembled
the bunks on a great vessel, and in an apartment especially
reserved for them, in his residence at Santa Fe, and it was
always with considerable awe that I entered that apartment. The
Governor occupied at that time a low, rambling adobe house, on
Palace Avenue, and this, with its thick walls and low
window-seats, made a fit setting for the treasures they had
gathered.
Later on, the Governor's family occupied the palace (as it is
always called) of the old Spanish Viceroy, a most ancient,
picturesque, yet dignified building, facing the plaza.
The various apartments in this old palace were used for
Government offices when we were stationed there in 1889, and in
one of these rooms, General Lew Wallace, a few years before, had
written his famous book, "Ben Hur."
On the walls were hanging old portraits painted by the Spaniards
in the sixteenth century. They were done on rawhide, and whether
these interesting and historic pictures have been preserved by
our Government I do not know.
The distinguished Anglican clergyman living there taught a small
class of boys, and the "Academy," an excellent school
established by the Presbyterian Board of Missions, afforded good
advantages for the young girls of the garrison.
