Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/30

10 worked silk counterpanes, can hardly be conceived. I have never seen such things from the China market introduced into Europe; they fetch a good price in Mexico, but it is necessary to bargain with the merchants who deal in them, for I have known them to take one third of what they originally might ask. The town of Cuernavaca would be an agreeable place to reside in; its population is about 10,000 souls; it is well wooded and watered; the houses are clean, and have a comfortable appearance; it is something like the village of Carshalton, near London. The houses are tiled after the English fashion. Here the commandant called upon me, at my inn, to offer his services. I invited him to supper, which he partook of with Don Juan Mayorga and myself,—my companion Don Mateo, and the landlady's little daughter, about eight years old, making up the party.

Previously to my leaving Mexico, I had got fitted up in a hurry, a small canteen,