;:::::::ae COAST AND TABLELAND m:::::;:: 



this country has to give to a lover of God's Nature. 

 The alkah dust rose thicker and penetrated every 

 crevice until we were almost smothered behind our wet 

 handkerchiefs as we rumbled into the station of the 

 City of Mexico. 



The capital city is Americanized to such an extent 

 that it lacks the charm of a typical city of either 

 country, and one may find a greater enjoyment and 

 novelty in the more suburban parts, amid the beauty 

 of the Vega Canal, or the stateliness of Chapultepec. 

 Within the grounds of the latter historical place was 

 a pitiful little zoological garden, perhaps the only one 

 in the Republic. Here, in a few small, rickety cages, 

 were some Mexican Deer, Peccaries, dogs, pigeons, 

 and rabbits, a magnificent Harpy Eagle, and a forlorn 

 Lioness. 



The cathedral, with its softened, incense-laden air, 

 its quiet, impressive hush, so different from the bustle 

 outside, seemed out of place on this side of the globe, 

 so venerable and mediaeval is the effect it produces. 

 This very day was being celebrated as its three hun- 

 dred and sixtieth anniversary. 



Occasionally, during our all-night ride westward 

 from the capital, I peered out of the window of the 

 sleeper into the dim light of the night, but pulque 

 plants by moonlight were all that rewarded me. With 

 the coming of dawn the country appeared more divers- 

 ified, and fields of maize-stubble alternated with the 



«^ 31 ^ ""• 



