SIX MONTHS IN MEXICO. 208 



was so narrow that two horses could with 

 difficulty pass each other. When the road 

 opened at the top of the hill the prospect was 

 most enchanting, — sweeping down a long 

 valley, to which we descended, to an hacienda 

 in one of the finest situations imaginable. It 

 was nearly under a high ridge of mountains, 

 whose perpendicular cliffs reached almost to 

 the clouds : the face of the lofty crags was 

 thickly wooded, and from the top poured a 

 cascade to a great depth, but which was lost 

 in the foliage before it reached the ground. 

 Part of the hacienda was used as a distillery, 

 and our party were invited to take refresh- 

 ment at it : — a very pleasant liquor, much re- 

 sembling new cider, was produced, and in one 

 part of the enclosed square a quantity of 

 coffee, grown in the neighbourhood, was dry- 

 ing in the shade. Soon after leaving this 

 house we found the road so precipitous and 

 steep that our horses had difficulty in pro- 



