belonging to the Regla family at Real del Monte, and those situated upon inferior veins in the same district. The mine of La Reunion is indebted for its name, and its existence, to a very curious circumstance. In the two last shafts sunk by the old Count Regla at the extremity of his Pertinencias upon the Biscaina vein, (San Juan, and San José,) the real direction of the lode was lost; and nothing but some small veins, or threads of ore, were cut, which did not repay the cost of working.
It became afterwards a favourite theory amongst the Mexicans to suppose that the great lode had split into various ramifications at this point, and reunited again at the place where the shaft of La Reunion has been sunk. It has, however, been since suspected that the real direction of the Biscaina vein lies a little to the North of San Juan and San José, almost immediately below the great Pachuca road; and should this prove to be the case, the Real del Monte Company will possess a large tract of unexplored ground upon the very richest part of the vein, to which the new shaft of St. Andrew will afford an easy access.
In considering the prospects of the Real del Monte Company, a short history of the mines now in its possession may serve to elucidate the calculations with regard to their future produce, which I have given in the third Section of the preceding Book. This history has been often repeated in England since it was first made known to us by Baron Hum-
