[Inez by Augusta J. Evans]@TWC D-Link bookInez CHAPTER IV 2/6
Could a stranger have been placed blindfold in one of them, and then allowed to look about him, the flat roofs and light appearance of most of the houses would have forced him to declare that he had entered a tropical town of the far east. Many of the buildings were of musquit pickets, set upright in the ground, lashed together with strips of hide, and thatched with the tule before mentioned.
There were scarce three plank-floors in the town; by far the greater number being composed of layers of pebbles, lime, and sand, rolled with a heavy piece of timber till quite compact; daily sprinkling was found necessary, however, to keep down the dust, produced by constant friction. The wealthy inhabitants built of sun-dried bricks, overcast with a kind of stucco.
Yet, unfortunately, the plastering art died with the Montezumas, for the most vivid imagination failed to convert this rough coating into the "silver sheen" which so dazzled Cortes's little band.
The reader will exclaim, "I can fancy no beauty from so prosy a description.
Thatched roofs and dirt floors, how absurd!" Although a strict analysis might prove detrimental, I assure you the _tout ensemble_ was picturesque indeed. "Italia! oh Italia! thou who hast The fatal gift of beauty." Art rivaled here.
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