Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/228

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208
OFFICIAL VISIT
[CH. XIV.

pictures, especially one of Lazarus on the point of rising from the grave: whether it was from the disposition of the light or the excellence of the execution I could not decide, but I could hardly persuade myself that it was not a real human being I was contemplating: I frequently, afterwards, visited the church purposely to look at this picture: the impression of its excellence increased with my future observations; in the midday glare and in the sombre shades of the evening it still preserved its character of reality; and I do not remember, in all the churches which I have since visited in the Netherlands, having ever seen anything more awful and impressive. What is most extraordinary, it is said to be the production of a native artist.

Sunday, 5th. Called again on Valle. I found him seated on a sofa extending the whole length of the end of a saloon, and conversing with three or four visitors; two of whom were Englishmen; one, Mr. John Hines, who had come out to propose a loan