Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/385

CH. XXVI.] by one, and the peons had a difficulty in removing the branches to prevent them from striking out their lights. About a quarter of a mile on this side of the shore was another small Indian settlement, where we stopped whilst our conductors provided themselves with fresh flambeaux: considering the hazardous situations in which we had been, our present travelling gave us feelings of the most perfect comfort and security, and we continued on, at the same tranquil pace, till we reached the place of our destination, the village of Chimalapañ.

In the middle of the town was a shed, open on all sides, with the addition of a considerable aperture in the roof: as it rained a good deal during the night, this circumstance was one of much inconvenience, for there was hardly room to stow our beds and all our baggage out of the wet. I had here the pleasure of receiving a letter from Doña Maria, by the hands of one of the trusty servants of the family; his name was Murillo: he was