Page:Mexico in 1827 Vol 2.djvu/238

224 all seasons, but particularly from March to June, when roses spring up in such profusion, that, on the dias de fiesta, hundreds of men and women, of the very lowest classes, are seen returning covered with garlands from the Chĭnāmpăs. The trees, too, preserve their foliage during ten months of the year.

With such advantages as these, the valley about the Capital might be made a paradise; yet there is hardly a single country-house to be seen, except in the Pueblos of Săn Āngĕl, and Săn Aŭgŭstīn, which have been almost abandoned since the commencement of the Revolution. The principal feature in the smaller villages is a little white chapel, which produces a beautiful effect when seen through the trees at a distance; but, as you approach, the charm is broken, for it is usually surrounded by nothing but wretched hovels, which afford shelter to a few Indian families, with all their live stock, compressed into the smallest possible compass. Yet there are very pretty rides in many directions: Chăpūltĕpēc and Tăcŭbāya, (of which I shall have occasion to speak later,) are within a moderate distance; and, by taking the direction of the Păsēŏ dĕ lăs Vīgăs, you see the remains of the Chĭnāmpăs, or floating gardens, which are to be found at a little distance from the canal of Chalco. It seems to me questionable whether they ever did float, but it is certain that they are now all fixtures: they are surrounded, however, by a broad ditch full of water, over which a little drawbridge is thrown, to keep