158 INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



ing his way, situated between two immense volcanoes 

 eight or ten thousand feet high. Farther on was an- 

 other volcano, and farther still another, more lofty than 

 all, with its summit buried in clouds. There were no 

 associations connected with this lake ; until lately we 

 did not know it even by name ; but we both agreed 

 that it was the most magnificent spectacle we ever saw. 

 We stopped and watched the fleecy clouds of vapour 

 rising from the bottom, moving up the mountains and 

 the sides of the volcanoes. We descended at first by 

 a steep pitch, and then gently for about three miles 

 along the precipitous border of the lake, leaving on our 

 right the camino real and the village of San Andres, 

 and suddenly reached the brink of the table-land, two 

 thousand feet high. At the foot was a rich plain running 

 down to the water ; and on the opposite side another 

 immense perpendicular mountain side, rising to the same 

 height with that on which we stood. In the middle of 

 the plane, buried in foliage, with the spire of the church 

 barely visible, was the town of Panachahel. Our first 

 view of the lake was the most beautiful we had ever 

 seen, but this surpassed it. All the requisites of the 

 grand and beautiful were there ; gigantic mountains, a 

 valley of poetic softness, lake, and volcanoes, and from 

 the height on which we stood a waterfall marked a sil- 

 ver line down its sides. A party of Indian men and 

 women were moving in single file from the foot of the 

 mountain toward the village, and looked like children. 

 The descent was steep and perpendicular, and, reach- 

 ing the plain, the view of the mountain-walls was sub- 

 lime. As we advanced the plain formed a triangle 

 with its base on the lake, the two mountain ranges con- 

 verged to a point, and communicated by a narrow de- 

 file beyond with the village of San Andres. 



