64 



ZACUALTIPAN. 



the space, and rushed pellmell into the hospitable court- 

 yard, much to the delight of our honest arriero, who ? 

 with his young wife and two children, was upon the look- 

 out for us. He gave as a hearty welcome to his home, 

 where, both for his sake and our own, we had deter- 

 mined to take an entire day's rest. 



A salvo of hearty kicks was meantime fired by old 

 Bamanos upon every set of ribs and haunches within 

 reach, either as a salutary correction for their general 

 want of discipline, or a publication of his resumption of 

 authority as " lord of the walk" now that they were at 

 home. 



Zacualtipan was the largest town we had yet seen 

 in Mexico, though far overrated, it being reported to con- 

 tain ten thousand inhabitants. Its situation, at the broken 

 ground towards the head of a vast rocky ravine of great 

 depth, descending for several leagues towards the valley 

 of Rio Oquilcalco, is very picturesque. Many of the 

 houses are constructed of limestone, with balconies and 

 galleries somewhat in the Spanish taste. The principal 

 church is more curious in parts, than beautiful in propor* 

 tion : and it is singular to trace here and there many of 

 the Moorish and Arabesque details which are to be found 

 in the splendid churches of the mother country, trans- 

 planted hither on the soil of the New World. The 

 church is furnished with its quota of bells, priests, and 

 tinsel ; as we had an opportunity of discovering an hour 

 after our arrival, when a large, but dirty and tawdry 

 funeral procession, with hymns and crucifix, perambu- 

 lated most of the narrow streets of the place, of which 

 the deceased seemed to have been a wealthy inhabitant. 

 There is little or no trade or manufacture here, as far as 

 we could learn. 



The house of our arriero was comfortably, but simply 

 furnished with settees round the walls, and was by far the 

 most pleasant lodging we had occupied since our arrival 

 in the country ; and though far from wealthy, it was 

 easy to see that the master was respected by his 

 townsmen. He devoted the following morning to a 

 ramble with us in the adjacent country, in which he 



