JOURNEY TO GUATEMALA. 



121 



the horizon. Looking in that direction, a long blue 

 streak just between the earth and the sky, arrested my 

 attention. It was the Pacific again ! I hailed the great 

 ocean once more, and was the more agreeably surprised 

 at seeing it now, from the impression I was under, that 

 we had left that sea far behind. But though we had 

 diverged considerably from the line of the coast, the ele- 

 vated position we had attained enabled us to obtain an- 

 other, though a dim and distant, view of it. There was a 

 singularity in the appearance of the sea, as I beheld it : it 

 seemed to be higher than the land, and as if floating in the 

 air. 



About sun-set, after a fatiguing ride over rough and 

 difficult roads, we reached a place called el Oratorio. 

 Here the alcalde was required to furnish rations for the 

 escort, and lodgings for ourselves. This requisition was 

 complied with ; and then Tito had to exercise his inge- 

 nuity once more in providing our evening meal. In pur- 

 suance of this object he brought me an armadillo, which, 

 he said, was a delicate morsel. But the delicacy came in 

 such a questionable shape, that I was fain to decline it. 

 After beating about awhile, he brought me an old rooster, 

 which proving acceptable, he killed, and, by some means 

 or other, made sufficiently tender. On this the officer and 

 I made our supper, leaving him and the arrieros to feast 

 on the armadillo. 



Our next day's march brought us at an early hour to a 

 river, called los Esclavos, where I was struck with the 

 novelty of a magnificent stone bridge, of nine arches, and 

 about sixty paces in length. It was built in 1792, and is 

 thrown over the river at a point where the banks are high 

 and precipitous, and the current extremely rapid. A few 

 miles beyond, we came to a small town having a crabbed 

 Indian name, which sounded somewhat like Cojiniqui- 

 lapa. Here we halted an hour or two, and starting again, 

 pursued our route until we came in view of a hacienda, 

 where, having now performed a regular day's journey, w& 

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