19th.--I opened my eyes this morning on the painting of a very lovely
Madonna, which hung unvalued and ill-framed, in one corner of the
apartment. At eight, rose and dressed, and went to breakfast. Here, when
there are two guests whom they wish to distinguish, the gentleman is placed
at the head of the table, and _his_ lady beside him.

To me nothing can exceed the sadness of the aspect of this city and of its
environs--mountains of moving sand, formed by the violence of the north
winds, and which, by the reflection of the sun's rays, must greatly
increase the suffocating heat of the atmosphere. The scene may resemble the
ruins of Jerusalem, though without its sublimity. The houses seemed
blackened by fire; there is not a carriage on the streets--nothing but the
men with the wide trousers slit up the side of the leg, immense hats, and
blankets, or _sarapes_, merely a closed blanket, more or less fine, with a
hole for the head to go through; and the women with _reboses_, long
coloured cotton scarfs, or pieces of ragged stuff, thrown over the head and
crossing over the left shoulder. Add to this, the sopilotes cleaning the
streets,--disgusting, but useful scavengers. These valuable birds have
black feathers, with gray heads, beaks, and feet. They fly in troops, and
at night perch upon the trees. They are not republican, nor do they appear
inclined to declare their independence, having kings, to whom it is said
they pay so much respect, that if one of the royal species arrives at the
same time with a plebeian sopilote, in sight of a dead body, the latter
humbly waits till the sovereign has devoured his share, before he ventures
to approach.

A few ladies in black gowns and mantillas called this morning, and various
men. We find the weather sultry. In summer, with greater heat and the
addition of the _vomito_, it must be a chosen city! The principal street,
where we live, is very long and wide, and seems to have many good houses in