distant parts of the plain, and the great chain to the eastward.
Now the whole scene before us was bathed in a flood of clear light, and the forms and colouring of the most distant objects were distinctly visible through an atmosphere of the greatest transparency and purity.
Beyond the broken country at our feet, and the fertile region, we saw the broad expanse of plain, stretching from the mountains behind Guadaloupe, far towards the south, with its groups of volcanic hills breaking the monotony of the surface. Directly in advance—the centre of the vast picture—lay the miniature domes and towers of the capital, distinct, from their number and colouring; beyond, the blue and broad surface of Lake Tezcuco, from end to end, with the Peñon de los Baños upon the shore, and the great mole of San Cristobal at the northern extremity. Exactly over the city, at the base of the eastern chain, great as was the distance, we could distinctly recognise the towns of Tezcuco and Huejutla, and the Hacienda of Chapingo—the dark line of the Contador, and even still farther removed, the form of the great pyramids of San Juan Teotihuacan. The latter could not be less than forty miles distant in a straight line.
How many times in descending, at every fresh turn, did we draw our bridles to gaze upon this noble and remarkable landscape, which increased in beauty hour by hour! I shall never forget the view presented as we gained the last step of the descent before entering Tacubaya, when that beautiful verdant region of gardens and orchards in which it and the neighbouring villages lay opened at our feet, and the Archiepiscopal Palace, the noble church, and the hill and palace of Chapultepec, formed the middle ground to the more distant prospect, the main features of which, though diminished in extent, remained the same: nor, as sunset approached, can I forget the gorgeous and inimitable colouring of the great vista to the southeast, where the receding mountains rose one above the other, in purple, violet, and gold, till
