e rapid work in dismissing
him to his long resting-place, and saying a cheap mass for the repose
of his soul, and then again they were ready for another enterprise. In
this way the roads were made safe in the times of that Viceroy.

Had I known the real distance to Tezcuco, I ought to have abandoned the
journey on account of the lameness of my horse. But either the Virgin
Mary, or, more probably, the extreme purity of the atmosphere on these
elevated plains, had deprived me of the power of measuring distance by
the eye. This is excessively annoying to a traveler. He sees the object
he is attempting to approach at an apparently moderate distance, plain
in sight, and as he rides along, hour after hour, there it stands, just
where it seemed to be when he first got sight of it. I finally reached
my destination in good time for a dinner, and for as good a night's
"entertainment for man and beast" as could be found in all the Republic
of Mexico.

When I turned the head of the lake, I was close upon the track which
Cortez and his retreating band followed into the plains of Otumba. Poor
wretches! what a time they must have had of it in this disconsolate
retreat--wounded, jaded, like tigers bereft of their prey! They mourned
for their companions slain, but most of all for the booty they had lost.

"They grieved for those that went down in the cutter,
And also for the biscuits and the butter:"

and hobbled on, as best they could, while the natives pursued them with
hootings and volleys of inefficient weapons. Passing this point and
turning to the north-east, they entered the plains of Otumba, where
they encountered the whole undisciplined rabble of the Aztecs, and
scattered them like chaff before the wind.

A NIGHT AT TEZCUCO.

Soon after I had passed the head of the lake and turned southward, I
entered a cultivated country between tilled grounds and little mud
villages along the road. These were the representatives of the
magnificent cities enumerated by Cortez. That fine grove of cypresses
which had been a landmark all day was now close at hand, and I could
form some idea of its great antiquity. But the day was passing away,
and it was still uncertain whether I could find safe quarters for the
night, where my horse, and the silver plates on my bridle, and the
silver mountings of my saddle would be safe. I never own such fancy
trifles, but they were on the horse given me at the stable.

A good dinner and a clea