LEON. 
149 
and parched, placed upon a flat stone, and with another stone 
ground to a flour. 
I engaged a cart to take myself and baggage to Grenada, but 
after waiting one day, with no prospect of starting, I purchased 
a horse, and engaged passage for my trunk in a cart that was about 
to start, and was soon under way. We passed through Chichi- 
galpa, Poselagua, &c., small towns, and at night, put up at a 
miserable rancho , with the prospect of a poor supper, and poorer 
lodgings. We had traveled, during the day, through a level, 
densely timbered country, the road having been a continuous 
mud-hole, in many places almost impassable; I stretched my¬ 
self out on a bench, half my length, and after paying court to 
Morpheus for an hour, fell into his arms. The next morning, at 
ten, we arrived at Leon, the capital of Nicaragua; we had not 
breakfasted, consequently this was our first care, after which we 
took a survey of the town. 
This is a place of much importance, being the home of the 
aristocracy and talent of the country. It is ornamented with 
public buildings, churches, and convents which, for extent and 
magnificence, are not equalled in the country. The plaza is 
spacious, and surrounded by public buildings, elaborately orna¬ 
mented with stucco, all indicating the work of a master-hand. 
My first impressions were of the most pleasing character, but 
upon extending my walk, a feeling of sadness insensibly stole 
upon me. Here, too, amidst the beauties, I might say the per¬ 
fections of nature, here in this almost celestial atmosphere, is 
found the impress of those sanguinary revolutions, with which 
this doomed country has been laid waste. One half the town is 
in ruins. Palaces that were once the scene of regal banquests, 
are now roofless, and tenanted only by loathsome reptiles. Here, 
are figures, representing Liberty and Peace, now half-buried be¬ 
neath the ruins, their faces bearing the marks of the ruthless 
sabre. The political, like the natural existence of this country, has 
always been precarious ; her social elements, like her subterran¬ 
ean caverns, have always been in a state of agitation ; the lava 
of human passions frequently bursting forth, devastating, and 
drenching the country with blood. 
The inhabitants of Leon were, as a class, superior to any I 
had seen in the country; the men were robust, active, and intel- 
