in any way. In fact, this
personage was fast asleep, though in a most singular situation and
attitude: that is to say, fast bound with a scarf of scarlet silk
between the two main branches of a tree, and at a height of over ten
feet from the ground.

The thick foliage so completely concealed him, however, that an Indian
spy might have passed under the tree without suspecting his presence.

The individual who occupied this aerial couch was no other than Colonel
Don Rafael Tres-Villas.

There are occasions when extreme bodily fatigue has the effect of
causing apprehension in the spirit; and Don Rafael had found himself in
one of these occasions.

Wearied, after three days' journey under a hot sun, and having had no
sleep on the night before setting out, in spite of the uncomfortable
position in which he had placed himself, Don Rafael was enjoying that
deep repose which is often granted to the tired soldier, even on the eve
of a sanguinary battle.

Leaving him, therefore, to indulge in his lofty siesta, and passing to
some distance from the spot, and along the road leading to Oajaca, we
shall encounter another group, differing from any yet mentioned. At a
short distance from the river Ostuta, and near the lake of this name, a
little before daybreak, might be seen a small party of travellers, about
to resume their journey interrupted for the night. From the haste
exhibited in making preparations for departure from their bivouac, it
would appear as if they were in dread of some danger. Two of them were
busy in extinguishing the remains of a fire, lest its light might still
betray them; two others saddled the horses; while a fifth, who stood by
the half-opened curtains of a _litera_, appeared to be reassuring a
young lady who was inside.

It is scarce necessary to say that the travellers in question were Don
Mariano de Silva, his daughter, and their domestics.

In the midst of the solitudes of transatlantic scenery, there are two
solemn hours out of the twenty-four, in which all created nature seems
more especially to rejoice--the hours of sunrise and sunset.

The eternal horologe is about to sound the first. A fresh breeze
arising, gently stirs the leaves of the trees, and, playing over the
surface of the water, dispels the nocturnal vapours. The eastern sky is
becoming tinged with bright yellow streaks, mixed with the purple of the
aurora, which proclaims the approach of the rising sun. His coming is
salut