CUAUTLA AMILPAS. 



197 



know the order V and so forth, mingled with threats to 

 call the town guard, and give us lodgings in the town 

 prison. To all this we could only reply by a fresh sum- 

 mons, enforced by a general thump of our sabre hilts at 

 the gate, and a chorus of " Will your grace open the 

 door ? — an order from the alcalde H There was really 

 something extremely dramatic in the whole scene. 

 Open the door he would not, pretending to believe that 

 we were a party of thieves freshly arrived, instead of 

 honest old acquaintances. At length he told us to thrust 

 the letter under the planks, which we did. It took him 

 a long time to spell, which, by-the-by, I do not wonder at, 

 as his honour, the sleepy alcalde, had contrived to write 

 it in a most illegible hand. Every now and then Don 

 Juan called to us, " Don't be in a hurry ! a little patience 9 

 a little patience, signores /" which of course did not add 

 to our store. At length the door opened, and one by 

 one in we marched ; when, foaming with passion, he in- 

 stantly relocked it, and swore stoutly that not a soul 

 should leave the posada again that night. 



A quarrel .was now unavoidable, and it soon arose to 

 a storm. Two or three drunken travellers joined in it, 

 most inopportunely ; and threats of violence against us, 

 as Europeans, began to be heard. Dona Dolores rushed 

 into the fray, confronting Garcia, who was unfortunately 

 pot valiant, with the most opprobrious language and 

 gestures. Her apparition threw oil upon the fire, and 

 Don Juan, without more ado, ran into the house, and 

 came back armed with a long cut and thrust sword called 

 a machete^ while we, as a matter of necessity — for I may 

 say that all along we acted on the defensive — had now 

 to produce our pistols. The gate was thrown open by 

 the women ; the town guards and some of the neighbours 

 rushed in, and without inquiry into the merits of the case, 

 or the origin of the hubbub, immediately ranged them- 

 selves on the side of our opponents, with a violence which 

 showed us w 7 e had no justice to hope from their inter- 

 vention. Sabres were drawn, and pistols were cocked, 

 and there was a moment when a bloody fray seemed 

 inevitable. 



r2 



