SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



71 



till the cattle had been fed, as the drivers had 

 gambled away all the money which had been 

 given them to purchase provender. 



Near the inn is a fine fountain of very ex- 

 cellent water protected by a statue of the 

 angel Gabriel ; and not far from it grew some 

 of the largest Nopals I had yet seen : they 

 were trees twenty-four feet in diameter, with 

 leaves perfectly smooth and round, eighteen 

 inches across, the fruit and blossom made a 

 very singular appearance. The environs of 

 Perote, with its castle and Indian suburbs, 

 having the mountains of Orizaba and Perote 

 for their back ground, are highly picturesque, 

 and would be a very desirable subject for a 

 painter. 



Before us lay the parched and volcanic 

 mountain of Pizara. It reminded me of St. 

 Michael's mount, in the bay of Penzance; 

 and a thick fog, resting on its base, looked 

 at a distance like the ocean. We walked 



