TWO NIGHTS IN SOUTH EKN MEXICO. 59 



had been told much, too, of the beauty of the country 

 but in this we were at first rather disappointed; 

 and we reached the capital without having seen any- 

 thing, except some parts of the province of Vera 

 Cruz, that could justify the extravagant encomiums 

 we had heard bestowed in the States upon the splen- 

 did scenery of Mexico. "We had not, however, to 

 go far southward from the chief city, before the char- 

 acter of the country altered, and became such as to 

 satisfy our most sanguine expectations. Forests of 

 palms, of oranges, citrons, and bananas, filled the 

 valleys ; the marshes and low grounds were crowded 

 with mahogany-trees, and with immense fern plants, 

 in height equal to trees. All nature was on a gigantic 

 scale the mountains of an enormous height, the face 

 of the country seamed and split by barrancas or 

 ravines, hundreds, ay, thousands of feet deep, and 

 filled with the most abundant and varied vegetation. 

 The sky, too, was of the deep glowing blue of the 

 tropics, the sort of blue which seems varnished or 

 clouded with gold. But this ardent climate and 

 teeming soil are not without their disadvantages. 

 Vermin and reptiles of all kinds, and the deadly 

 fever of these latitudes, render the low lands un- 

 inhabitable for eight months out of the twelve. At 

 the same time there are large districts which are com- 

 paratively free from these plagues perfect gardens 

 of Eden, of such extreme beauty that the mere act of 

 living and breathing amongst their enchanting scenes, 



