Page:Face to Face With the Mexicans.djvu/194

188 of a crisp day in October, united to the brightness of a clear day in January, but without snow or ice, and, mingled with these, the life-giving air of a balmy day in May, and then imagine twelve months of such weather, some idea may be had of this enchanting clime.

When Joaquin Miller was asked his opinion of Mexico, he replied enthusiastically: "Mexico! Why, it is Italy and France and the best part of Spain tied up together in one bunch of rapturous fragrance. . . . . There are no such skies as has Mexico. People have got into the habit of talking about the sapphire blue that domes Italy. But it is because travelers, as a rule, go there by way of misty, foggy England, and the contrast is so great as to enchant them. But right here among the grand, restful mountains which rim this valley, I have seen the brightest skies in all my life; here, six days from Chicago and eight days from Boston, is more than Italy can give. I have seen the cattle and the stars sleep side by side on the mountains! Let me explain. There is generally a mist crowning every mountain peak which shuts out the stars. Here, how different! In my ramblings over the valley at night, the misty curtain is swept away and the stars can be seen all along the ridges. They stand out brilliant in this clear atmosphere. No such atmosphere can be met near Naples or Florence."

At the capital I observed the peculiar tints that settle over the mountain peaks in the late evenings. Looking upward from one street, the gazer sees a clear gray; from another, a liquid blue; from another, a bright rose or amber or gorgeous orange; all floating and blending together until the entire heavens are lit up by a bewitching roseate glow, which seems to vibrate gently to and fro in the thin air, while the whole superb canopy is gemmed with stars, which partake of the glowing tints surrounding them.

Later in the night, I have gazed in rapt admiration on the changing of this roseate hue into one so deeply, darkly blue, that to my vision the sky appeared a dome of jetty black, from which myriads of refulgent jewels shone out.

The contrast between the works of the Great Architect of the