ROUTE TO SAN AUGUSTIN. 



89 



distance, while the two great volcanoes of Puebla tow- 

 ered, with their snowy caps, from a distance of sixty 

 miles to the south. Beyond the flats in your imme- 

 diate vicinity — over which the various causeways with 

 their avenues of elm and poplar, and the aqueducts, are 

 seen stretching for miles towards the base of the hills 

 — the eye catches a glimpse of a lovely region of ver- 

 dure and cultivation, studded with innumerable orchards, 

 villas, and tasteful country houses ; and many a village, 

 indicated by the dome and tower of its church. In that 

 direction the country appears like one vast garden, and 

 the contrast between its verdure and gray tints, and the 

 varied hue of both the intermediate plains and the slopes 

 of the mountains beyond, is extremely beautiful. 



A few miles from the mud barrier of the city, you 

 have the ancient road to the lake of Chalco, stretching 

 towards the village of Mejicalzingo, and the foot of the 

 Cerro di l'Estrella, to the left. The latter strangely 

 moulded ridge, heaving up from the surrounding plain, 

 is noted as the spot from which Cortez enjoyed his first 

 near view of Tenochtitlan. Such are the extreme dry- 

 ness and transparency of the atmosphere on the table 

 land of Mexico, that the traveller soon discovers that he 

 is quite unable to form a just idea of the relative posi- 

 tion and distance of the objects scattered over this great 

 plateau. Indeed this deception surpasses anything which 

 I have observed in any other country, and is heightened 

 by the brilliancy of the colouring observable in the general 

 tints of the landscape. Thus, in looking towards the hill 

 I have just named, it appears to be but little in advance 

 of a huge mass more to the eastward, whose steep pur- 

 ple sides, truncated summit, and yawning crater bespeak 

 its volcanic origin. Yet as you proceed on your road, 

 you see them remove from each other, leagues apart. 

 On farther advance you see first one distinct cone dis- 

 entangle itself from the bulk of the more remote, then 

 another, and in the end discover a range of distinct cones 

 increasing in height, and admit the complete fallacy of 

 your first impressions. 



For many miles after he has gained what might be 



h2 



