Page:Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan.djvu/55

 Rh Their appearance was such as gave me a highly favourable opinion of the description of persons I should meet at Guatimala. The canonigo was one of tho first men in the country in position and character, and was then on his way to Havana, on a delicate political mission, being sent by the Constituent Assembly to invite back the archbishop, who had been banished by General Morazan ten years before. He undertook to do the honours, and set before us chocolate, and, what he called the "national dish," frijoles, or black beans fried, which, fortunately for our subsequent travels, we "cottoned" to at once. We were very tired, but agreeable company was better than sleep. The canonigo had been educated at Rome, and passed the early part of his life in Europe; the Frenchman was from Paris; the young Pavons were educated in New York: and we sat till a late hour, our clothes stiff with mud, talking of France, Italy, and our home. At length we hung up our hammocks. We had been so much occupied, that we had paid no attention to our luggage; and when we wanted to procure a change of raiment, could not find our men, and were obliged to turn in as we were; but, with the satisfactory feeling that we had passed "the mountain," we soon fell asleep.