attend these assemblies, not having been officially received; but we hear that there is singing and dancing, and other amusements, and that His Excellency is extremely amiable and galant.
By six o'clock this morning, several of our friends were assembled to accompany us to the diligence; (Señors Co, Me, Rs, Ae, &c.) which, unfortunately, we had not been able to secure for ourselves; for at this moment, the whole world is in motion, going to attend the great annual fair of San Juan de los Lagos; which begins on the fifth of December, and to which Toluca is the direct road. Fortunately, the diligence had broken down the preceding evening, and it was necessary to repair it; otherwise we should have left behind various important articles, for in the confusion of our departure, every one had left some requisite item at the hotel—Cn his gun; K her bag; I everything—and more especially the book with which I intended to beguile the weary hours between Mexico and Toluca. Our servant-boy ran—Señor Rs mounted his horse, and most good-naturedly galloped between the diligence office and the hotel, until, little by little, all the missing articles were restored. We climbed into the coach, which was so crowded that we could but just turn our heads to groan an adieu to our friends. The coach rattled off through the streets, dashed through the Alameda, and gradually we began to shake down, and by a little arrangement of cloaks and sarapes, to be less crowded. A padre with a very Indian complexion sat between K and me, and a horrible, long, lean, bird-like female,
