The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-28

dream. I imagine high wall, over
grown flowing verdure and overtopped by
palms; gate in the wall,i unlocked
| by the consul with key from his pocket
which, when opened, heralded our arrival
| by tinkling bells; odors OF tropical fruits
and flowers intensified by falling dew,
beauty and fragrance everywhere;
graveled pathway hedged by roses, leading
to the veranda which half surrounds the
inner court that encloses fountain and
garden. This veranda-long, wide and
| deep as a town hall-rambles away down
the other wing Of the casa past the dining
rooms and kitchens, that portion nearest
| the main entrance being really an immense
oUT-oF-DooRs pRAwING-RooM
furnished with luxurious couches and
rockers, tables scattered about, shelves of
books here and there, statues and brackets,
flowers in bowls, in baskets and pitchers
the whole softly lighted by rose colored
shaded candalebra and tall lamps, produc-
ing an indescribably beautiful effect, com
bined with the fragrance and the sweet
night air
The Sonora Vrosia-a tall and stately
lady, with a face as strong and striking as
her husbands, expressing capacity for in
tenderest emotions of love or hate. rage OF
grief, softened by true goodness of
heart and a calm and happy life
came to welcome US with charming.
cordiality, expressed in musical Spanish,
for this lady speaks no English. The
children, who were educated in the best
schools of the United States, are gone from
the home-nest as the most tenderly
guarded ftedglngs must in time-the
daughters to their husbands homes and the
sons to business in the great world-an ex-
cept the youngest. lovely girl of possibly
twenty years, who has resided much with
relatives in San Francisco and speaks
English as perfectly as you or me, There is
A WONDERFUL CHARM
abeut the aristocratic Mexican, male or
female, which no calm, phegmatic Aneri-
can ever possessed or can acquire. Posi-
bly, it comes partly from their numerical
rarity, and because from generation to gen
GRAFTON they have ruled the inferior masses
by the power very properly given by SUI
lperior wealth, refinement and education.
There is something of the warm suns and
rich vintage of the tropics in their veins,
and their gentle courtesy and dignitied gaze
are an unconscious heritage. The Senorito
Viosea is an exceedingly ''fair'' representa-
of the ultra best society of the two Califor-
nias-the perfected flower of a race of
of rulers.
Dinner was not long over in the Viosea
for the guests, and we went down
the tiowery veranda to dining
room opening from it. Upon the daintily
appointed table there was turkey with
amole, fam2les fresh and steaming, and
other dishes characteriStically Mexican,
served with claret, and later with coffee
and cigarettes for those who desired.
Then we rambled about the gardens,
which, though located
TIE HEART OF An OLD CITY,
are very extensive. There were orange and
lemon trees showing the perpetual wonder
of buds, blossoms and fruitage, green and
perfected all on one branch; there were all
the fruits OF the tropic and temperate
zones, roses galore and flowers unnumbered
IN variety and quantity; there were fOun-
tains and bowers and grottos and statues;
and in the midst of this programme and
beauty was little house by itself, con-
tanning only a luxuriously furnished parlor
and an inner museum of curios, to which
the master of the manse could retire
when marred by the cares of the world,
or any member of the family might
such rest and seclusiOn. There were turtle
doves cooling in the trees, birds of many
kind, both free and confined, and various
pets, including a droll monkey chained to
tree.
Afterwards we made tour of the house,
which is one of the most delightful have
ever seen, with a wide hall running
straight through the middle from
veranda to veranda, and large, airy
rooms, exquisitely furnished. Wherever
the eye rested, indoors or out, there was
something to delight the most cultivated
taste.
TO PLEASE THE SENSES
and rest the tired soul. Upon the walls
there were priceless paintings, some Of
them of the early Spanish school, having
been taken from the now ruined mission
churches, books in all languages, flowers
everywhere, and an elegant grand piano.
upon which the Senorita is an accomplished
musician.
There was to be a bail that night, in the
house of a married daughter OF the Vioscas:
and, though in travelling attire, your cor
respondent could not resist the urgent invi-
tation to at least look in upon
it. Through the moon-lighted streets
again, to another enchanted lasa, whose
entrance was blocked by crowd: COM
moner who had collected, Us usual, to
take innocent delight in wathch-
ing the dOings of the great folk of their
little world. There was a lovely and
graceful hOsliss, beautifully dressed seno-
ras and senOritas, gallant cabilloras, and,
as a matter of course the finest music
common with all Latin races, these His
panO- Americans
ARE NATURAL MUSICIANS.
1t was la DANA Mexicana-the most
slow, graceful and dreamy dance in the
world, Just suited to warm climates. af-
fording ample scope for lOve-making and
conversation. Ices. cakes and champagne
circulated freely in the pauses, and toward
midnight singular game was played with
shells, in which all participated The
for the occasion, the boards covered with
canvas. In most of these aristocratic
houses, in which frequent balls are given,
a movable flooring is kept, which the
servants there being always u
great many can put down or take
away at an hours notice. Chairs We're
ranged around the sides of this patio, rose
and orange trees bloomed over head,
fountain murmured in the centre amid its
embankment of lilies and violets, and the
whole was beautifully Illuminated by
softly-colored lights.
When we finally sought the landing, in
the fragrant hours "ayant the twal,n
the old town, asleep in a stiffness
like death, looked more than ever
like a city in a picture-a glorified city, its
matched huts and white walled casas and
distant mountains and nearby palms, all
silVered by the moon and bathed in calm
and mellow radience. The cathedral
towers dominating all, as Gods temple
should-rose, in gloomy grandeur above
human habitations, as of old the Acropolis,
with solemnity that chilled in the silence
of night
Like half conscious sOnlnambulists, we
climbed down the stairs of the pier and
Il