urite dish, gentlemen?"

Someone answered, "No."

"Curse me!" exclaimed the major, "I believe he can get anything we may
call for--raise it out of the ground by stamping his foot or ringing a
bell. Didn't I tell you?"

This exclamation was uttered in consequence of the appearance of a train
of well-dressed servants, five or six in number, bringing waiters with
dishes and decanters. They entered from the porch; but how did they get
into it? Certainly not from the woods without, else we should have seen
them as they approached the cage.

The major uttered a terrible invocation, adding in a hoarse whisper,
"This must be the Mexican Aladdin!"

I confess I was not less puzzled than he. Meantime the servants came
and went, going empty, and returning loaded. In less than half an hour
the table fairly creaked under the weight of a sumptuous dinner. This
is no figure of speech. There were dishes of massive silver, with huge
flagons of the same metal, and even cups of gold!

"_Senores, vamos a comer_" (Come, let us eat, gentlemen), said Don
Cosme, politely motioning us to be seated. "I fear that you will not be
pleased with my _cuisine_--it is purely Mexican--_estilo del pais_."

To say that the dinner was not a good one would be to utter a falsehood,
and contradict the statement of Major George Blossom, of the U.S.
quarter-master's department, who afterwards declared that it was the
best dinner he had ever eaten in his life.

Turtle-soup first.

"Perhaps you would prefer _julienne_ or _vermicelli_, gentlemen?"
inquired the Don.

"Thank you; your turtle is very fine," replied I, necessarily the
interpreter of the party.

"Try some of the _aguacate_--it will improve the flavour of your soup."

One of the waiters handed round a dark, olive-coloured fruit of an
oblong shape, about the size of a large pear.

"Ask him how it is used, Captain," said the major to me.

"Oh, I beg your pardon, gentlemen. I had forgotten that some of our
edibles may be strange to you. Simply pare off the rind, and slice it
thus."

We tried the experiment, but could not discover any peculiar improvement
in the flavour of the soup. The pulp of the aguacate seemed singularly
insipid to our northern palates.

Fish, as with us, and of the finest quality, formed the second course.

A variety of dishes were now brought upon the table; most of them new to
us, but all piquant, pleasant to the taste, and peculiar.

The major tried t