space of half an hour, the carbine or the cuchillo should settle matters. After some patience and cautious peeping, they would gather themselves up, shake their ears, clamber into the diligence, and proceed thankfully on their journey. But as to ourselves, we have no adventures to relate.
During the whole of our morning's ride, the beautiful mountain, La Malinche, lay on our left hand. It is the highest summit between the chain of Orizava and that of the Mexican Nevadas. I have, upon what authority I cannot now recollect, elsewhere termed it the volcano of TIascala, but though its form would favour the conclusion, I am not prepared to prove that it is such. We made our noonday halt at a village a little beyond the Pinal, after a ride of ten leagues, many of which lay through deep sand.
And here I took the liberty of prying a little into the character of our doughty escort. It consisted of four privates and a corporal; and five more inoffensive warriors never mounted on horseback. Their horses were none of the best, but quite good enough for the purpose. The riders were dressed in a species of uniform, consisting of red coats and a black round hat, with a narrow strip of white linen tied round it. Their nether garments were not conformable; and it was evident their pay and discipline did not extend so far down. "But it is not the dress, after all, that makes the soldier," you may say: true, there are the arms and the valour! As to the arms, all were furnished with a long lance, with a little green and red penoncelle fluttering at the end, which they carried in proper military fashion—a dangerous weapon if used with determination and discretion. Moreover, all were furnished with carbines and cartridge boxes, and the leader was armed with a sabre with a leather sheath. This was not so much amiss, and would do very well at a distance: but during the two hours' halt at the village aforesaid, I took it into my bead, while the owners were enjoying their siesta under the shade of the gateway, just to stride in among them, and take a nearer inspection of the weapons, and
