FIRST SIGHT OP THE PACIFIC. 283 



these memorials of the conquerors was increased in no 

 small degree by the beauty and comfort of the convent, 

 and Padre Alcantra's kindness. In the afternoon we 

 walked down to the bridge across the Rio Pensativo. 

 The plain on which the Spanish soldiers had glittered 

 in armour was shaded by the high volcanoes, and the 

 spirit of romance rested upon it. 



The day which I passed at the old city" is one of 

 those upon which I look back with pleasure. Seiior 

 Vidaury and Don Pepe remained with us all day. Af- 

 terward, when Padre Alcantra had again been obliged 

 to fly from the convent at the approach of an invading 

 army, and we had all passed through the crash of the 

 revolution, on leaving Guatimala to return home I di- 

 verged from my road to pay them a visit, and they were 

 the last friends to whom I said farewell. 



In the morning, with great regret, I left Ciudad Vie- 

 ja. Padre Alcantra and Don Pepe accompanied me, 

 and, to help me on my journey, the latter lent me a 

 noble mule, and the padre an excellent servant. The 

 exit from this mountain-girt valley was between the two 

 great volcanoes of Agua and Fuego, rising on each side 

 nearly fifteen thousand feet high ; and from between the 

 two, so unexpectedly to me as almost to induce a burst 

 of enthusiasm, we overlooked an immense plain, and 

 saw the Pacific Ocean. At a league's distance we 

 reached the village of Alotenango, where, among In- 

 dian huts, stood another gigantic church, roofless, and 

 ruined by an earthquake, and where, with the hope, in 

 which I was not disappointed, of seeing them again, I 

 took leave of the cura and Don Pepe. The road be- 

 tween the two great volcanoes was singularly interest- 

 ing ; one with its base cultivated, girt by a belt of thick 

 forests, and verdant to the very summit ; the other with 



