A CRABBED OFFICIAL. 



281 



have any difficulty with this crusty official ; and, endeav- 

 ouring to hit a vulnerable point, told him that we wished 

 to stop a few days to rest, and should be obliged to 

 purchase many things. We asked him if there wag 

 any bread in the village ; he answered, " no hay," 

 " there is none ;" corn ? " no hay ;" coffee ? " no hay ;" 

 chocolate? " no hay." His satisfaction seemed to in- 

 crease as he was still able to answer " no hay ;" but 

 our unfortunate inquiries for bread roused his ire. In- 

 nocently, and without intending any offence, we be- 

 trayed our disappointment ; and Juan, looking out for 

 himself, said that we could not eat tortillas. This he 

 recurred to, repeated several times to himself, and to 

 every new-comer said, with peculiar emphasis, they 

 can't eat tortillas. Following it up, he said there was 

 an oven in the place, but no flour, and the baker went 

 away seven years before ; the people there could do 

 without bread. To change the subject, and determined 

 not to complain, I threw out the conciliatory remark, 

 that, at all events, we were glad to escape from the rain 

 on the mountains, which he answered by asking if we 

 expected anything better in Palenque, and he repeated 

 with great satisfaction an expression common in the 

 mouths of Palenquians : " tres meres de agua, tres meres 

 aguacero, y tres meres del norte," "three months rains, 

 three months heavy showers, and six months north 

 wind," which in that country brings cold and rain. 



Finding it impossible to hit a weak point, while the 

 men were piling up the luggage I rode to the prefeto, 

 whose reception at that critical moment was most 

 cheering and reviving. With habitual courtesy he of- 

 fered me a chair and a cigar, and as soon as he saw my 

 passport said he had been expecting me for some time. 

 This surprised me ; and he added that Don Patricio had 



Vol. II.— N n 



