five o'clock
Clay took them to the principal shops , where the two girls held whispered consultations over lace mantillas , which they had at once determined to adopt , and bought the gorgeous paper fans , covered with brilliant pictures of bull-fighters in suits of silver tinsel ; and from these open stores he led them to a dingy little shop , where there was old silver and precious hand-painted fans of mother-of-pearl that had been pawned by families who had risked and lost all in some revolution ; and then to another shop , where two old maiden ladies made a particularly good guava ; and to tobacconists , where the men bought a few of the native cigars , which , as they were a monopoly of the Government , were as bad as Government monopolies always are . Clay felt a sudden fondness for the city , so grateful was he to it for entertaining her as it did , and for putting its best front forward for her delectation . He wanted to thank some one for building the quaint old convent , with its yellow walls washed to an orange tint , and black in spots with dampness ; and for the fountain covered with green moss that stood before its gate , and around which were gathered the girls and women of the neighborhood with red water-jars on their shoulders , and little donkeys buried under stacks of yellow sugar-cane , and the negro drivers of the city 's green water-carts , and the blue wagons that carried the manufactured ice . Toward five o'clock they decided to spend the rest of the day in the city , and to telephone for the two boys to join them at La Venus , the great restaurant on the plaza , where Clay had invited them to dine . He suggested that they should fill out the time meanwhile by a call on the President , and after a search for cards in various pocketbooks , they drove to the Government palace , which stood in an open square in the heart of the city . As they arrived the President and his wife were leaving for their afternoon drive on the Alameda , the fashionable parade-ground of the city , and the state carriage and a squad of cavalry appeared from the side of the palace as the visitors drove up to the entrance . But at the sight of Clay , General Alvarez and his wife retreated to the house again and made them welcome .