Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/221

Rh nowhere found in greater perfection than in the district through which we were about to pass, where the Maguey plantations, from their vicinity to La Puebla and Mexico, constitute one great source of the prosperity of the inhabitants.

Although but very short notice had been given at Hŭămāntlă of our intention to visit that place, we found a great part of the population waiting in the streets to receive us; nor was it possible to withstand the solicitations of the Cura, at whose house we were absolutely compelled to alight. We were immediately visited by the Ayuntamiento, with the Alcalde at its head, as well as by the officers of a regiment quartered in the town; after which we were conducted to a room, where a dinner for thirty people had been prepared, in a style of hospitality which would have done honour to any country in the world. The moment that we quitted the table, our kind hosts, who were determined not do things by halves, sent for all our servants, as well as the escort, who were regaled with the innumerable dishes which we had been compelled to leave untouched; while we, being very great people, were solicited to exhibit ourselves from the balcony to the crowd assembled below. I mention these circumstances, trifling as they may appear, because they serve to show the feelings with which the prospect of an intercourse with Great Britain was hailed by the Mexicans. Nothing could be more decisive in this respect than our reception, particularly in