Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/327

CH. XXI.] cowslip;—as passion gnaws the bosom, alike, of the peasant or the princess.

The only wine that was worth drinking in the town was some champaign which was sold by some French merchants, who had established themselves here with an assorted cargo of goods, consisting of this beverage, china vases, very splendid, together with tea sets, writing desks, ladies' dressing cases, and other countless articles of nicknackery; not to mention pickles, fish sauces, patent mustard, and other gastronomic delicacies. My servant had been out to purchase, amongst some of the latter articles, two dozen of champaign; the price was eighteen dollars or seventy-two shillings a dozen, which he had paid, having hired a man in the Grand Plaza to bring the whole home; but, unfortunately, he lost sight of him in the crowd, which was considerable, as it was market day; and, after many ineffectual endeavours to discover the porter, we were obliged to submit to the loss of the champaign.