A WELCOME VISITER. 



125 



advise any one v^ho v^ishes to visit these ruins in peace, 

 to go to Guatimala first, and apply to the government 

 for all the protection it can give. As to us, it v^as too 

 late to think of this, and all we had to do was to main- 

 tain our ground as quietly as we could. "We had no 

 apprehension of soldiers coming from any other place 

 merely to molest us. Don Miguel told us, what we 

 had before observed, that there was not a musket in the 

 village ; the quality and excellence of our arms were 

 well known ; the muleteer had reported that we were 

 outrageous fellows, and had threatened to shoot him ; 

 and the alcalde was an excessive coward. We formed 

 an alliance, offensive and defensive, with Don Miguel, 

 his wife, and Bartalo, and went to sleep. Don Miguel 

 and his wife, by-the-way, were curious people ; they 

 slept with their heads at different ends of the bed, so 

 that, in the unavoidable accompaniment of smoking, 

 they could clear each other. 



In the morning we were relieved from our difficulty, 

 and put in a position to hurl defiance at the traducers 

 of our character. While the workmen were gathering 

 outside the hut, an Indian courier came trotting through 

 the cornfield up to the door, who inquired for Seiior 

 Ministro; and pulling off his petate, took out of the 

 crown a letter, which he said he was ordered by Gen- 

 eral Cascara to deliver into the right hands. It was di- 

 rected to " Seiior Catherwood, a Comotan 6 donde se 

 halle," conveying the expression of General Cascara's 

 regret for the arrest at Comotan, ascribing it to the ig- 

 norance or mistake of the alcalde and soldiers, and 

 enclosing, besides, a separate passport for Mr. Cather- 

 wood. I have great satisfaction in acknowledging the 

 receipt of this letter ; and the promptness with which 

 General Cascara despatched it to ''Comotan, or wher^ 



