d to the palace once occupied by Cortez, and now
the residence of the highest city official. It has been so modernized
that nothing was found especially interesting within the walls. The hot
sun of midday made the shade of the ancient trees on the plaza
particularly grateful, and the play of the fountain was at least
suggestive of coolness. Sitting on one of the long stone benches, we
mused as to the scenes which must have taken place upon this spot nearly
four hundred years ago, and watched the tri-colored flags of Mexico
floating gayly over the two palaces. In the mean time, the swarthy,
half-clad natives, regarded curiously and in silence the pale-faced
visitors to their quaint old town, until, by-and-by, we started on our
return to Puebla by tramway, stopping now and then to gather some
tempting wild flowers, or to purchase a bit of native pottery, which
was so like old Egyptian patterns that it would not have looked out of
place in Cairo or Alexandria.

Occasionally, in this section and eastward, towards Vera Cruz, as we
stop at a railway station, a squad of rural police, sometimes mounted,
sometimes on foot, draw up in line and salute the train. They are
usually clad in buff leather uniforms, with a red sash about their
waists, but sometimes are dressed in homespun, light gray woolen cloth,
covered with many buttons. They remind one of the Canadian mounted
police, who guard the frontier; a body of men designed to keep the
Indians in awe, and to perform semi-military and police duty. It is a
fact that most of these men were formerly banditti, who find that
occupation under the government pays them much better, and that it is
also safer, since the present energetic officials are in the habit of
shooting highwaymen at sight, without regard to judge or jury.

CHAPTER XV.

Down into the Hot Lands.--Wonderful Mountain Scenery.--Parasitic Vines.
--Luscious Fruits.--Orchids.--Orizaba.--State of Vera Cruz.--The
Kodak.--Churches.--A Native Artist.--Schools.--Climate.--Crystal Peak
of Orizaba.--Grand Waterfall.--The American Flag.--Disappointed
Climbers.--A Night Surprise.--The French Invasion.--The Plaza.--
Indian Characteristics.--Early Morning Sights.--Maximilian in
Council.--Difficult Engineering.--Wild Flowers.--A Cascade.--Cordova.
--The Banana.--Coffee Plantations.--Fertile Soil.--Market Scenes.

After returning to Puebla from Tlaxcala, we take the cars which will
convey us eastwa