Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/195

Rh a great measure supply the place of rivers in many favoured districts. On the road from the Venta de Cardova to the capital, in the Valley of Mexico, for instance, the volcanic path lies between the great lakes of Chalco and Tezcuco; and the waters with their varied borders, and the banks with their deserted marshes, and feathery inhabitants nestling in the mud, afford the traveller a continued theme of interest and amusement; while they are serviceable to the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood in various ways.

Imagine yourself elevated on a little calzada, or causeway, a few feet higher than the side of a lake, at the distance of about seven miles from the city of Mexico. To the north, you behold a series of flats (upon which a white salt sediment is occasionally visible), speckled with innumerable wild ducks. On the south, you perceive that the water reaches further over the flats, and flows more briskly on their margin. And on turning to survey the magnificent rocks and mountains behind you, the city itself, enclosed by rich groups of trees, lies opposite. It is, upon the whole, a singular and very attractive scene.

An astonishing number of the ducks above