il under a heavy
press of spurs and stirrups. I said adios to the _Capitan_, who assured
me his frame was deplorably jolted, and that he felt unable to proceed.
The fact was, the Don carried too much weight for anything beyond a
quarter stretch. I was recompensed for the loss of his society by the
attendance of two dark _mozos_ as guides, and three spare horses; but
with the beasts I must confess having been decidedly duped: I booked
them to Guadalajara, but they were neither swift nor well gaited. My
attendants expressed great regret, as a matter of course, which did not
prevent the avalanche of blessings with which they were indulged. At
sunrise we dismounted a minute, for coffee, at a small village, with an
unpronouncable jaw-cracking Indian name. It was a very pretty spot,
shrubby and treesy, with a noisy rivulet washing the door-steps of an
old ruined chapel. A barefooted damsel was quite attentive to my
pencilling occupations, and with an inquisitive frown and nod, as much
as to inquire--"What on earth is he about?"--handed me a little glazed
pot of wheat-coffee; but being a courier of the grand route, and having
no time to satisfy the muchachita'a curiosity, I swallowed the beverage,
threw her a peseta, and while she was hunting for the change, we were in
the saddle and off. At ten of the clock we halted at the hamlet of
Ocultilti, in front of a little mud-built _fonda_, where, for a Mexican
miracle, was laid a tolerably clean cloth upon a table. The road thus
far had been hilly and rugged, and the last five miles a tedious clamber
over a mountain-pass. My horses had given out, and I felt a strong
inclination to shoot the lying guides for imposing on me; but the
patrona of the inn sent every boy in the place scampering in search of
fresh horses, while she busied herself at the fire getting a breakfast
of everlasting _frijoles_. In reply to my anxiety for more beasts, she
continually repeated--_Quien sabe! hay muchos! si Senor!_--in this part
of Mexico the oft-repeated exclamation--Who knows! there are thousands!
Presently appeared two ragged, filthy Indians. They approached each
other, tipped their broad sombreros, at an angle like to the rings of
Saturn. _Como esta vd? Muy bueno! Me allegro, y la familia? Para servir
vd!_ They kept up this strain of compliment for ten minutes, neither
letting go hands nor hats--until my patience becoming exhausted at such
fatiguing politeness--I let the lash of my whip fall loving