, and comfortable quarters for the night; for his fine open
countenance and yellow hair seemed to have touched the heart of this
old Mexican matron--a class of persons, by-the-way, who are the kindest
mortals in the world. The good cheer disposed of, he gathered up his
feet upon his mat for the night, and slept as men do who have nothing
to fear from robbers. When in the morning he awoke, he found the old
dame astir, preparing for him an early breakfast, which was of a
quality unexpected in so unpretending a mansion. When breakfast was
prepared, and after he had finished eating it, the old woman made him
understand by signs that he was to go into the adjoining room and there
replenish his dilapidated wardrobe. She supplied him with a new suit
from head to heel, and then urged him to tie around his waist a small
sheep's entrail filled with brandy, according to the custom of Mexican
Indians. Thus had our transient friend had his inner and outer man
supplied in this out-of-the-way hut, at the robbers' charges, after
which, being shown the direction in which to reach the Jalapa road, he
bade the kind old matron _adios_, and traveled on to Encerro with
a lighter heart than he had borne the day before.

ENCERRO.

At Encerro we left four of our fellow-passengers. They were the son and
three daughters of the widow who kept the inn. They had been through a
full course of studies in one of the Roman Catholic boarding-schools in
the United States, and were now returned, having fully mastered the
English language--the great desideratum of the Spanish-American people,
and one of the sources from which the Catholic schools and colleges in
the United States derive their support.

What a beautiful spot is Encerro, the country residence of Santa Anna!
It may not be as productive as his estate of Manga de Clavo, in the hot
country, near Vera Cruz; but it is more salubrious and delightful. In
the civil wars he had often made a stand here, and had learned to
appreciate the beauty of the spot long before he was rich enough to
make the purchase--for the pay received by officers of the highest rank
in Mexico, is not sufficient to enable them to accumulate a fortune
till far advanced in life. Politicians in Mexico, as in all other
countries, are not unwilling to hazard their private fortunes in their
political contests, and though the estates of the unsuccessful parties
are not confiscated in a revolution, one reason may be that they are