Page:Impressions of Spain in 1866.djvu/20

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south. They first went into the church, which is very rich in jaspers, marbles, and mosaics, the marbles being brought fi-om the neighbouring mountains. The cloisters at the back are still unfdmished ; but the entrance to the monastery is of fine and good proportions, and the corridors and staircase are very handsome. Between the church and the convent is a kind of covered cloister, leading to the 'Santuario,' the actual house in which the saint was born and lived. The outside is in raised brickwork, of curious old geometrical patterns; and across the door is the identical wooden bar which in old times served as protection to the chdteau. Entering the low door, you see on your right a staircase ; and on your left a long low room on the ground-floor, in which is a picture of the Blessed Virgin. Here the saint was born : his mother, having a particular devotion to the Virgin, insisted on being brought down here to be confined. Going up the stairs, to a kind of corridor used as a confessional, you come first to the Chapel of St. Francis Borgia, where he said his first mass. Next to it is one dedicated to Marianne di Jesu, the 'Lily of Quito,' with a beautiful picture of the South American saint over the high altar. To the left again is another chapel, and here St. Frangois Xavier, the