PtIEBLO VIEJO. S3 



custom house, till such time as the goelette's papers were 

 pronounced to be in order, in other words, till the par- 

 ties should be agreed as to the amount of the bribe de- 

 manded by the authorities for the introduction of the 

 contraband cargo. So here we were still in as great a 

 dilemma as ever. No expostulation would serve our 

 purpose for some days, and there seemed to be every 

 probability of the vessel's being again blown out to sea, 

 before the disgraceful intrigues should come to a conclu- 

 sion, till, after much trouble and expense, we were al- 

 lowed to anticipate her only, to go on board as she lay 

 beyond the bar, and land our effects. Still difficulties 

 beset our path, and what with one thing and another, a 

 further detention of a fortnight was our destiny before 

 we * were enabled to complete our arrangements, and set 

 out for the interior. The causes of this detention w 7 ould 

 have been ludicrous at any other time, but in our posi- 

 tion they were serious enough. 



Without entering into the detail, I may cull one or two 

 pictures from the time thus spent, as they stand recorded 

 in my memory, or on my journals. 



I have casually mentioned the Pueblo Viejo, or old 

 town. It was not unfrequently our wont, on the early 

 mornings of those fervid days which filled up the intervals 

 between the nortes, to hire one of the pleasant little 

 boats, which were always at your command if you would 

 pay for them, and seek under their white awnings on the 

 breezy surface of the river, that comfort which the great 

 heat of the weather denied ashore. My favourite ex- 

 cursion was to descend the Panuco, till we made the 

 opening of the small broken channel which w r inds 

 between oyster beds and green verdant banks, and 

 forms the communication with the southern lagoon, upon 

 whose shore the old settlement is situated. At such times 

 the morning breeze would generally fill your sail, and 

 bring you without much labour under the little thatched 

 landing place, which, once the scene of so much bustle, 

 is now nearly deserted. 



The picturesque situation of Pueblo Yiejo, and its old 

 time-worn Spanish-built houses, lying at the foot of a steep 



