Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 2.djvu/22

2 of chilé near agave plantations. Beneath majestic bananas; through bowers of palm and cocoa trees; by sweet-scented orange groves hedges of prickly pear and flowers overhanging beds of water-melons. Now tracking the prairie paths, or threading-the broad alamedas; then skirting the banks of lakes, or crossing marshy grounds; passing through sunny towns, enwrapped in afternoon siestas, under the walls of convents and splendid cathedrals, or past adobe houses.—Steadily he plods onward, as cheerful as he is faithful, and patient as the sure-footed mule beside him.

Bandying jest and laugh with the women and children on his route; greeted by miners returning from their work; cross-questioned by the priests at intervals; bullied at the gates of cities; examined by petty officers. Drenched, foot-sore, bespattered with mire; through tornadoes and thunderstorms; in peril from serpents, wild beasts, and robbers; still, he pushes onward. At sunrise, by starlight, through cloudy days, and moonlight nights. By the lair of wolves; by the caves of brigands; past death-crosses on the road; beside the bodies of murdered travellers; startled by