30/52 I told the _secretario_ to summon the town government to the municipal-house, which was a small affair, no more than 15 or 18 by 20 feet, with walls of lashed poles and a palm roof. A narrow bench ran around the four sides, and two tables, one long and one short one, set at right angles, occupied the greater portion of the open space. A long wide bench was placed alongside of the larger. At one end there was a _santo_, in a little shrine decorated with flowers and leaves. A little fire was built upon the floor, over which wax was melting, in which candles were being dipped. |