ly as his friend,
and the latter remembered receiving from him some really friendly
offices. He apologized for not being able to show us many attentions at
that place; it was his pueblo, but he had no house there; this was his
home, and here he could make amends. He told us that this was a new
village, and had but few accommodations; the casa real had no doors, or
they were not yet put on. He undertook to provide for us, however, and
conducted us to a house adjoining that of his brother, and belonging to
the latter, on the corner of the plaza. It had a thatched roof, and
perhaps, by this time, the floor is cemented; but then it was covered
with the lime and earth for making the cement, taking a good impression
from every footstep, and throwing up some dust. It was, however,
already in use as a store-room for the shop on the corner, and had
demijohns, water-jars, and bundles of tobacco stowed along the wall;
the middle was vacant, but there was no chair, bench, or table; but by
an energetic appeal to the lookers-on these were obtained.

Our Nohcacab friend was most efficient in his attentions, and, in fact,
constituted himself a committee to receive us; and after repeating
frequently that at Nohcacab, though it was his village, he had no
house, &c., he came to the point by inviting us forthwith to his house
to take chocolate.

Tired of the crowd, and wanting to be alone, we declined, and unluckily
assigned as a reason that we had ordered chocolate to be prepared. He
went away with the rest, but very soon returned, and said that we had
given him a bofetada, or rebuff, and had cheapened him in the
estimation of his people. As he seemed really hurt, we directed our
preparations to be discontinued, and went with him to his house, where
we had a cup of very poor chocolate, which he followed up by telling us
that we must eat at his house during the whole of our stay in the
village, and that we must not spend a cent for la comida, or food. Our
daily expenses at Nohcacab, he said, were enormous; and when we left he
escorted us home, carrying with him a little earthen vessel containing
castor oil with a wick in it, and said we must not spend any money for
candles, and again came to the point by insisting upon our promising to
dine at his house the next day.

In the mean time Albino had inquired him out, and we found that we had
secured a valuable acquaintance. Don Juan was one of the oldest
settlers, and one of the most influe