how

Augh then! Misther Jones hould yer wish, and let me be, any

But Jones was glorious (when not at the fore-royal yard, or jib-boom end, or re-stowing our ragged cotton, or sextant in hand for the longitude) at fishing; he caught in succession a bonita, a barracouta, and, lastly, a large dolphin! I looked with pity on his dying throes; nothing is exaggerated of the ineffable beauty of its colours in their shadow'd changes! How hard to die! How long it lashed the deck; alternate bright green, saffron, and silver, edged with its dark blue dorsal fin ; then, dying, a mottled azure. Oh, noble, superb creature! have we marred thy beauty! I cannot bear these agonies. Unconscious, merry Jones is for a moment hateful. But we all thought it excellent eating the next half hour; all my fine silent sentiment vanished in the fryingpan-but are we ever half an hour consistent?

We had an extremely rough passage, the wind in our teeth the whole way; but we kept in the Gulf Stream, and but once sighted the American low shore; none of the Bahamas. This run is nearly equal to a voyage home; few sail cheered our sight; one English barque, about our own size (380 tons), we passed like a shot; she, labouring in the gale the victim of our vicious build-fit for nothing; besides, she was too deep in rum and sugar from our ruined isles.

Parks and I often talked on this subject, so mortifying to one's pride of country. "But," says he, "I looked sharp after my Mara on the slips; this here six-inch plank capping the topside fore and aft, I would have first rate, for the waist; they are seventy-five feet, best white or live oak. I made the builder change them twice. I was bound, I cal'late (calculate), to have it first-rate, no flaws, no knots, no nonsense. I stood on my own gunwale, sir-yes, siree." We had a handsome figure-head, an Indian chief's bust, he explained it. "Well, sir, I was down in Mara-caibo in the bight often-that is a harbour! its name comes of a chief, so I just cut it in half-that's it!" He cut all long words in half; for the skipper had no notion of superfluous syllables or impediment in anything. At last, after twenty-one tedious days' beating and buffeting in a rough sea, we ran into smooth water and fogs, among a cluster of islands on the coast below Cape Cod, called Martha's Vineyard, and took a pilot for the Cape.

I am once more only near Boston-" bound to go there," as the captain said, and I must take his word for it, as I cannot advance a mile further for this month to come.

NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.

BEWARE OF THE CHOCOLATE OF CHIAPA.

BY DUDLEY COSTELLO.

V.

THE PERILOUS FOREST.

THE adventurous traveller who journeys across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and, leaving the course of the river Chiapa, explores the mountainous district that lies between the towns of Ciudad Real and Chiquimucelo, will be rewarded by beholding much picturesque and remarkable scenery. It is a region full of natural wonders; there are springs that ebb and flow regularly every six hours, rivers that petrify whatever is cast into them, lakes whose waves attain the temperature of boiling water, and caverns whose extent and profundity have never been measured.

As it is now, so it was in the days when Don Gabriel de Orellana governed the province of Chiapa, and Bernardino de Salazar exercised spiritual sway. The aspect of nature remains the same, but the governors and bishops of that time had moral questions to occupy them which, hanpily, now no longer exist.

Imported from the old world, the belief in witchcraft quickly took root in the new hemisphere, and amongst the half-Spanish, half-Indian population, there soon arose numerous pretenders to occult science, who made themselves as formidable to their neighbours, and were as much dreaded and detested by them, as if they had in reality possessed the power of which they boasted.

It was one of the peculiarities of witchcraft that, in spite of the pains and penalties attendant on the practice, its professors rarely denied the attributes of their calling. To have done so would scarcely have availed them, for accusation and punishment generally went hand in hand, while the admission gave them an importance which they could never have obtained in To be feared was much; to rule the people's any other way. mind was more; to be able to gratify the worst passions of the heart was most of all. And these things lay within the compass of the wretched beings who, but for the prevailing superstition, would have gone to their graves unnoticed-and unburnt.

The most notorious witch in all the province of Chiapa-or it might even be said in all Mexico, with Guatemala to boot-was a certain old woman, by name Martha Carillo. She was of Indian origin, with some intermixture of Spanish blood, but not sufficient to quench in her the tendency to worship rather according to the faith of her forefathers than after that which the invaders had so widely spread. She was outwardly as good a Christian as most of the half-castes who formed the bulk of the Aug.-VOL. XCVIII. NO. CCCXCII. 2 c

population, was sometimes seen at mass, and had been known-though the time had long gone by-to kneel in the confessional. But those who professed to be better acquainted with her inward life, whispered that the devotions of Martha Carillo were more duly paid at the feet of certain grim idols, whose likeness was not to be found in heaven or earth, than at the shrines of Our Lady and the blessed Saints. At her door were laid all the accidents and mishaps which befel both man and beast throughout the province; storms, lightning, blight, the murrain, and the plague, were the instruments by whose aid she wrought her wicked will; and-not to mince the matter-Martha Carillo had the credit of being a reputed witch, and, while her reign lasted, enjoyed all the questionable privileges of her position.

A country abounding in the natural phenomena to which allusion has been made, was well calculated to serve the purposes of those who pretended to the exercise of preternatural power, and Martha Carillo did not lose sight of the advantages which she might derive from a well-chosen locality.

The spot where she established her dwelling was situated in the mountainous district on the right bank of the river Chiapa, and stood quite alone, the nearest habitations being full a league distant, and consisting merely of a small village or group of huts belonging to the poorest Indians. The approach to it was rendered difficult and dangerous, not only on account of the steepness of the rugged road, but because it was necessary to traverse a dense forest, infested by numerous beasts of prey and venomous reptiles. In these recesses-so said the Indian hunters who skirted but feared to penetrate the depths of the forest-were to be seen creatures of the most fearful description. It was reported by them, that having gone out to fish one moonlight night in the river that runs at the base of the mountain ridge, before it falls into the Chiapa, they were disturbed by hearing a loud hissing near them. On looking round, they saw a creature watching them with eyes like fire, and in great affright they scrambled up the trees, where-being safely lodged-they could perceive that it was a sort of snake, having feet about a span long, and a kind of wings above. The creature was about as long as a horse, and moved very slowly; and when it was quite out of sight, the Indians descended from the trees, and made off as fast as they could in the opposite direction, and never again returned to the same spot, either by night or by day. Other accounts they gave of creatures in the same river, shaped like baboons, with very long tails and skins like tigers: they were always under water, never appearing above the surface, and used to watch for the Indians as they swam across, winding their tails about the swimmers' legs, and so drowning them. They described the forest as being haunted by a terrible beast, called the Danta, with sharp horns and long tusks, having two maws in which it kept its prey till ready to devour it; by the Avechuche, a large and venomous lizard, striped with purple and gold, whose bite was certain death; by bats of enormous size, which, if they found a person asleep, sucked his blood till none remained in his veins; by rattlesnakes having two mouths, one at each extremity, biting with both, and causing death in a few moments; by large, hairy worms, any part of whose body touching a man's flesh poisoned it; by scorpions, toads, and horned vipers, and by numberless other venomous reptiles, not the least strange

among them being one which, if it were trodden upon by a horse, the animal's hoof rotted away and fell off. Other creatures, too, there were, supposed when first the country was discovered to be imps of darkness, from their colour, their form, their cries, and their wild gestures.

But worse than all these impediments to safe travelling was the reputation of Martha Carillo; and could the forest have been safely traversed, which the greater number believed to be impossible, the dread of what they might encounter in her abode was sufficient to deter the most foolhardy from venturing near it. Accident, or, as was generally supposed, enchantment, had on one occasion directed the steps of a hunter, named Miguel Dalva, to the place where she dwelt. He described it, on his return to his village, as a large hut, roofed with palmetto-leaves, and built of stones and baked clay-where baked he did not dare to think-and standing at the entrance of a dark cavern into which the light of day never penetrated. It was fenced outside with aloes and prickly pears, so that except through a narrow wicket nothing could enter, and that wicket was guarded-he saw the creature, and could not be mistakenby a small, misshapen imp, with a face as white as silver, and its body covered all over with long dark hair, which sat on a stone rocking itself to and fro, and making all the while a strange melancholy noise, such as the priests told them was made in anguish by souls in purgatory. When questioned if he had seen the owner of this dismal abode, Miguel Dalva made answer, that he was too much frightened to venture from beneath the covert where he lay concealed, and that as soon as he could recover from the dread he felt at finding himself in such a neighbourhood, he stole away as silently as possible, and was only too glad that no witchcraft had stricken his limbs, and prevented him from reaching his village.

The story told by the Indian, Miguel Dalva, simple as it was, formed the groundwork of every possible exaggeration, and Martha Carillo's Familiar became transformed, in public belief, from a mere monkey into one of the children of the Devil, expressly sent by the Evil One for her protection. But if the people were generally disposed to endow Martha Carillo with the reputation of power derived from unhallowed sources, it must be admitted that the old woman herself did everything she could to encourage the notion by the mystery which she threw over all her

actions.

VI.

THE EXPEDITION.

THE great heat of summer had not passed away, nor had the heavy rains of autumn yet set in, but on the eve of the feast of Saint Domingo, which falls upon the fourth day of August, there was a murky gloom in the sky, which threatened a coming storm, and warned all those accustomed to watch the aspect of the elements to keep themselves closely under shelter.

But, undeterred by appearances which seldom menaced in vain, a close litter, borne by two Indians, was on that evening seen to issue from the portal of one of the principal houses in the Calle de los Angeles, in the city of Chiapa, the bearers of which took their way down the slope which leads towards the river after passing through the Puerta de los

Sacrificios. Who was within the litter could not positively be averred by those who observed it, for the thick silk curtains were closely drawn while it was being carried through the city; but had the curiosity of any Chiapano led him to follow the camáda into the open country, he would then have seen a small white hand throw back those curtains, and reveal the tall and graceful form of a pale but beautiful woman, who, from the richness of her dress, evidently belonged to the wealthiest amongst the inhabitants of Chiapa.

The bearers steadily pursued their route till they reached the river, where a boatman was in readiness to ferry them over with their burden, the lady still remaining in the litter; on gaining the other side, it was replaced on the shoulders of the men, who at their quickest pace bore it onward to the Indian village of Acatapeque. Arrived there, at the command of the lady, whom they obeyed with the promptitude that arises as much from fear as habit, the bearers made a halt, and the inmate of the litter descended into the road, which, like everything named by the Spaniards, bore the high-sounding title of Camino Réal, or royal highway, though the sole resemblance which it bore to anything royal, existed in its being the means of exacting a tax for keeping it in order from the Indians, who had given their labour to make the road what it was.

"Which is the hut of Miguel Dalva?" inquired the lady of a spare, swarthy-looking man in hunter's attire, who was sitting beneath the shelter of a broad-leafed plantain, in front of an open cottage door, mending a net which he used for taking some species of game.

The man, who had been so busily occupied with his work as not to have noticed the approach of the litter, now looked up, and, seeing before him a lady richly dressed, rose to his feet, and bent his body in an attitude of respect.

The question was repeated, somewhat impatiently.

"I am he," said the man; "what does the Señora desire?"

"You know where Martha Carillo lives?" asked the lady.

"La Bruja!" exclaimed Miguel Dalva, crossing himself, but making no more direct reply to the question.

"Witch or not," returned the first speaker, sharply, "are you acquainted with the place of her abode?"

"I know where it is," answered Dalva; “but sentence unfinished.

The lady took no notice of his hesitation. "You must be my guide thither," she said. "I dare not-no one dares to go near it."

-"And he left the

"You are a man, and a hunter too, it appears," observed the lady, in a tone bordering on contempt. "Are you afraid of your own game

"I said not that, Señora," replied Dalva, hastily. "I fear nothing that runs on four feet; but Martha Carillo is not like other people. It would be as much as my life is worth to show you where she lives." "Your life!" said the lady, scornfully. "Öf great account that! At how many pesos do you rate it? Poor as beggary itself, and yet set a value on your life! For how much will you lead me to the dwelling of Martha Carillo-the witch ?" she added, slowly and emphatically.

"I know not the sum that would tempt me, Señora," said Dalva.