78 SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 



day's journey was passed over bad roads, such 

 as no English carriage could have ventured 

 upon, yet we reached Puebla in the evening, 

 having performed a distance of nearly fifty 

 miles, without our mules once tasting food 

 or water on the way. As we approached 

 Puebla, we met several groups of Indians, 

 making a much more respectable appearance 

 than any we had yet seen; they were pro- 

 vided with candles, fire-works, artificial 

 flowers, shrubs, &c, it being the eve of 

 Palm Sunday, these were in preparation for 

 the approaching festival of Easter. 



