which made so great an impression in one town it visited, that it determined to go to Tulancingo to serenade the jefe of that district, his honored Senor Padre.  “And I was invited, sir, not that I am a musician or know one note from another, but because I am of the family of the gentleman who was to be honored, and as a mark of distinguished favor to both members of the family.  The band played so beautifully, that it was not allowed to stop until half-past-eleven at night, when it retired in great triumph.”  All this was very interesting, the first time it was told us, but the natural son remained while we ate supper, and afterwards, following us to our sleeping-room, kept up the repetition until two were already in bed and asleep and the others wished to be, when, finally, we turned him out and locked the door upon him for the night.  We have stated that we paid for four animals to bring our baggage hither, while but three were actually employed; the animals, both pack and passenger, started on their journey for Huachinango at half-past-four in the afternoon, though we had paid both beast and man two full days’ wages.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

Tlacuilotepec is a dependency of Pahuatlan.  We started for our day’s trip thither on a good lot of animals, at eight o’clock in the morning, with two foot mozos for carriers.  The journey was delightful.  For a little, we followed a trail down the left-hand bank of a fine ravine.  Nearly at the foot we struck to the left, through a little cut, and were surprised to find ourselves upon the right-hand slope of another gulf of immense depth.  A few minutes later, we reached the point where the two streams united.  And from there on, for a long time, we followed the bottom of a great gorge.  The rock walls were bold and often sheer, and the upper line of mountain horizon was graceful and varied.  The cliffs were mostly limestone, and presented remarkable examples of folding and dislocation.  The long roots of trees, following exposed rock surfaces downward for yards, and twisting and bending to find lodgment in the crevices, were curious.  Great tufts of a plant with long, narrow, light-green leaves hung down along vertical rock faces.  In little caverns, at the foot of cliffs, were damp spots filled with ferns and broad-leaved caladiums, and brilliant clusters of begonias in bloom.  At several places, the water of springs or underground streams gushed forth, in natural rock-basins, or from under projecting ledges.  At one spot, there was a dainty basin of limestone into which a pretty veil of spring water fell gracefully.  We crossed and recrossed the stream many times.  Everywhere we were within sound of the creaking sugar-mills, and in sight of the ladling of boiled sap; everywhere we met arrieros driving animals loaded with little loaves of native sugar; everywhere the forest was broken with little patches of sugar-cane, growing on the slopes.  Here and there, we saw cables