Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/197

CH. Xll.] all in bustle, making ready for departure: here, some unsold goods were ticketed, as tempting bargains, and, there, were others forced upon the market, by petty auctions. The young people seemed inclined, also, to make the most of their time: their gaiety and good humour were still abundant, and more than they had time to dispose of. However, by six o'clock the next morning, they were all on their return to the capital. As the roads, from without ten miles of it, are, in most places, perfectly impassable for carriages, the whole party were on mules or on horseback, and, as they were accompanied with their retinues of servants of every description, with all their requisite utensils and articles of furniture, even to their beds, they formed, as winding up the wild passes of the mountain, or scattered over the verdant plains, a spectacle highly picturesque and amusing. All the families were, of course, acquainted with each other: every one seemed to know every thing about every body's affairs. According to the