Benevolent institutions, too, are not wanting,—among them the Asylum for Orphans and Invalids; the Central Hospital, where four hundred patients are cared for daily; and the Military Hospital in the suburbs. The Penitentiary seems to be well conducted, and the House of Correction has extensive workshops, in which good work is done. No less than twenty public fountains and washing-places adorn and keep the city clean. All business is not conducted in the shops, which are small, and seldom make much display; but there are two markets, one of which, the Nacional, is very extensive, and seems to contain within its bounds merchandise of every sort,—in one place pottery, in another fruit; saddlery and cloths, confectionery and hardware, bread and guns, are close at hand. The prices are high, even of the necessaries of life; and the cheapest things were pottery and nets, both of Indian manufacture. It was not a little amusing to remember that the great retail stores of Boston were imitating the variety-shops of this uncommercial city, and collecting within their walls all kinds of goods,—from shoes to hats, from dinner-sets to carpets, from stoves to books. The country variety-stores of New England are outdone in both cases. As almost everywhere else, it is expected that the purchaser will try to beat down the price. Among the curiosities of the market we found native jackets (_guepiles_) made in the simplest manner, but embroidered with the greatest labor and most barbaric fancy of color and form. These the women take great pride in; and the showy garments cloak many deficiencies in the rest of the wardrobe. [Illustration: Indian Pottery.] CHAPTER VII. GUATEMALA TO ESQUIPULAS. [Illustration: Pacaya, Fuego, Agua.]