ended "roads"--if by courtesy they may
be termed such--and baked by the sun blazing upon the carriage-hood,
the traveller would often prefer to exchange his uncomfortable seat for
that of the saddle. Often a more agreeable method is by alternating
these methods.

[Illustration: LIFE AND TRAVEL IN MEXICO: MULES, PEON, AND CACTUS.]

I journeyed, on one occasion, with a _padre_, or village priest; not,
however, in a public _diligencia_, but in a vehicle of similar nature
which I had chartered to convey me to a distant point. As I was
starting some Mexican friends of a neighbouring _hacienda_ approached
the vehicle, accompanied by a stout _padre_. "Would I do them and the
_padre_ the great favour of taking the latter in my coach, which would
save the worthy representative of the Church a long, hot ride?" they
asked. "Of course I would; nothing would afford me greater pleasure," I
replied, although in strict truth this was an expression of courtesy
rather than of actual fact, for the _padre_ looked very heavy, and I
had desired to journey rapidly without a change of mules. The reverend
gentleman was of a type commonly met with in Spanish-America, of little
education and predominant native physiognomy, but jovial withal. A
basket containing good and liberal provisions to sustain the _padre_
upon his arduous journey was put into the coach by his friends, and
simultaneously put at my service, as a matter of course. From the
covering of the basket protruded the tops of various bottles of wine
and beer, which my travelling companion eyed with satisfaction, and
indeed before we started he insisted upon opening one--of cognac--and
giving us a _copa_ all round. This habit of drinking brandy in the
early morning is a common one in Latin America--it is said to ward off
malaria!--but is not an acceptable one to the temperate Briton.

Well, the coach started. The _peon_ who held the mules' heads--a
necessary precaution--let go, and the half-broken animals bounded
forward along the rough and dusty road, in a way which rendered both
the _padre_ and myself quite speechless for a space. However, they soon
settled down into their rapid jog-trot, and I found my companion quite
loquacious. His mission had been to marry a number of _peones_ at the
_hacienda_, who, at such places, where the visits of a representative
of the Church are apt to be few and delayed, have to wait for the
Church's blessing for some time, and then receive it in batche