ATDTDA (14) references p 378

[kelber at mindspring.com]

-----Original Message-----
>From: mikebailey at speakeasy.net

>"El Palacio de Cristal" - in London, a beautiful
>exhibition hall, in Guanajuato, a political prison...

Referred to in the opening dream sequence in GR: "the fall of a crystal palace."  

>Panteon - (this is pretty interesting)(yeah, wikipedia again)
>In the Panteón catacombs to the west of the city 
>is a famous cemetery noted for the natural mummies 
>produced by unknown means. About 1 in 100 bodies 
>buried here experience natural mummification. 
>
>In the late 1800s the town instituted a "burial tax" 
>for the families of the deceased. When some of the 
>poorest families were unable to pay the tax, their 
>relatives were dug up and placed on public view 
>in a purpose-built museum. 
>
>The 'Guanajuato Mummy Museum' still adds corpses 
>to this day; two children were added who died in 
>1984 most recently due to their relatives' failure 
>to pay the $ 20 per 5 year rental fee. The museum 
>holds 111 corpses resting on velvet pillows. Today, 
>it is reported that the proceeds from the museum 
>help fund the city's coffers to a considerable degree.

Yikes!  This is a pretty gruesome, Dickensian punishment for the poor.

Laura