30 



SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



CHAPTER III. 



Departure from Vera Cruz. — Sandy Desert. — Vera Agua. — 

 Puente del Rey. — Puente del Reyna. — San Rafael. — Inns 

 on the Road. 



I hired a carriage, drawn by eight mules, 

 and in company with Mr. Vandries, an in- 

 telligent French gentleman, my son, and a 

 servant who spoke both French and Spanish, 

 departed, nothing loath, on the 8th of March, 

 for the city of Xalapa, on the road to Mexico, 

 and distant from Vera Cruz about twenty-two 

 leagues. It took us four long days to ac- 

 complish that which an English stage-coach, 

 on English roads, would have performed, 

 with double the weight, in seven or eight 

 hours. On leaving the gates of Vera Cruz, a 



