agant encomiums we had heard bestowed in
the States upon the splendid scenery of Mexico. We had not, however,
to go far southward from the chief city, before the character of the
country altered, and became such as to satisfy our most sanguine
expectations. Forests of palms, of oranges, citrons, and bananas,
filled the valleys: the marshes and low grounds were crowded with
mahogany-trees, and with immense fern plants, in height equal to
trees. All nature was on a gigantic scale--the mountains of an
enormous height, the face of the country seamed and split by
_barrancas_ or ravines, hundreds, ay, thousands of feet deep, and
filled with the most abundant and varied vegetation. The sky, too, was
of the deep glowing blue of the tropics, the sort of blue which seems
varnished or clouded with gold. But this ardent climate and teeming
soil are not without their disadvantages. Vermin and reptiles of all
kinds, and the deadly fever of these latitudes, render the low lands
uninhabitable for eight months out of the twelve. At the same time
there are large districts which are comparatively free from these
plagues--perfect gardens of Eden, of such extreme beauty that the mere
act of living and breathing amongst their enchanting scenes, becomes a
positive and real enjoyment. The heart seems to leap with delight, and
the soul to be elevated, by the contemplation of those regions of
fairy-like magnificence.

The most celebrated among these favoured provinces is the valley of
Oaxaca, in which two mountainous districts, the Mistecca and
Tzapoteca, bear off the palm of beauty. It was through this immense
valley, nearly three hundred leagues in length, and surrounded by the
highest mountains in Mexico, that we were now journeying. The kind
attention of our charge-d'affaires at the Mexican capital, had
procured us every possible facility in travelling through a country,
of which the soil was at that time rarely trodden by any but native
feet. We had numerous letters to the alcaldes and authorities of the
towns and villages which are sparingly sprinkled over the southern
provinces of Mexico; we were to have escorts when necessary; every
assistance, protection, and facility, were to be afforded us. But as
neither the authorities nor his excellency, Uncle Sam's envoy, could
make inns and houses where none existed, it followed that we were
often obliged to sleep _a la belle etoile_, with the sky for a
covering. And a right splendid roof it was