The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-02 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Mitla ; a Narrative of Incidents on a Journey in
Mexico, Guatemala, and Salvador. By G. F.
Von Tempsky. Longman.
Many entertaining works of travel have already
been published respecting the troubled States of
Central America. Their gorgeous tropical scenery,
the very lawlessneFs of the marauders that infest
them, their rapid decadence and insignificant posi-
tion beside the bustling energy of the United States
and the prosperous activity of the Canadian domi-
nions, combine to tinge them witty au air of
romance ; while the nature of the adventures met
with by the traveller, and the comparative novelty
of the incidents and scenery, generally render works
of this kind agreeable reading. Tire present is no
exception. It is written by a German, and he has
acquitted himself of his laborious task most honour-
ably. He has had the advantage of an t, nglish edi-
tor in Mr.J. S. Bell, the author of a "Journal of a
Residence in Circassia ;" but it is probable that little
supervision was needed. The usual tales of bandits
and murderers abound in his pages, an I those who
seek the marvellous or terrible will not be disap-
pointed. For instance, on quitting Mexico for
Durango, a party of thirty Mexicans, armed and
mounted, proposed to hies and his friend that they
should join them. From various reai,nis they
declined, and what was their harror, on pursuing
their journey a day or two la-er, to come upon the
corpses of the whole party on the high road. They
had been surprised and murdered by a band of
the Indiana who infest this locality, and whom the
government, such as it is, is totally unable to sub-
due. The following extract gives a picture of a
ball at Durango, iu honour of the anniversary of
Ind-pendeace-7-
11-xicaris, in general, are ab-temious ; but, on par-
ticular occasions, they will look a little longer into the
glass than is comps' ib•e with eravity of demeanour
afterwards, which is the more difficult for them to pre.
serve, as they are unaccustomed to resist the influence
of drink. Such was the case here. Amongst the gal-
lants most conspicuone in elegance of manner was one
of the efficere of the Zacatecesis band of heroes, inblaz
ng
uniform. He was the admired of ilia.), a fair one,
..o
whom his noble bearing contradiet!id clearlythe calumnies
of of doubt as to the courage of him and his
favourable
opinion He seemed to be anxious confirtui theirr
thie ban
.hroyoamomireota: act
onein asc?cdo rtdostttc
another,e w
applied
IHi
e‘ei sur occasion.vyed
wTerueetwre,af:;omis;
ally some stimulants to h. buddingvao,anudpsteoemmeyd
it list to have selected his man. He sidled
•Tc' ct
friend, who, at some dietetic-, from me was engaged in
iantl
anprobablyin.ydfr
sieene friend awinuailda bl
alytltalne aanal, a
nbesidesgst l crowd,being a
never
va4
conver'sation with
thin
e
cc' h cc eci acquaintance,
enthusiastic in favour of any European.
To make the story short, he cast derogatory refkc-
tio„ on f,reignere in general, and on the one before
him in particular. the scene became interesting and
hopeful. I came up in time to bear him asi.ert' with
loud emphasis, that by his hands had died Englielituen
Germans, French, Americans, and others. Iu a mo-
ment my friend sidled close up to him, whispered some-
thing in his ear, and gave him a peep at the handle of
a pistol, in an inner breast pocket of his coat. The
talisman acted with wondrous suddenness. A slight
palcuess replaced, for a moment, his flushed colour ;
but immediately he was himself again, he cast a lock of
anutierable fierceness on the smiling pair of us, and—
retreated.
At that moment, a gulden cry in the street, a souffle,
and then a tumult, near the door, were heard. For a
moment, everybody seemed paralysed ; the next, some
rushed through the doorway, some through the win-
dows, to see what w
on in the street. A. minute
after, the bleedingbaosdgoing
a young man was carried
body of
in, under the wail of women, and laid on a sofa. The
canse and incidents of this catastrophe were the fol-
lowing :—This young man had excited the jealousy
of another, by dancing too often with his sweethear .
The incensed lover eagles two of his friends i.
his interest, and the
three go into the Street. The
unconscious O
onscioas rival is called out to the street, under some
pretext or AhAer• As ho passes the doorway he

receives a thrust from the blade of a sword cane, a
pistol is snapped at him, and a stone, dashed in his
teeth, bears him to the ground. He bad time to recognise
ocie of his assailants—the one who gave the thrust, the
instigator of the plot ; and he saw all the three run down
the street, and disappear in the darkness. Suffice it to
say, that the victim survived ; his three assailants were
sentenced t,) severe punishment ; but whether it ever
was executed, with all the rigour of the law, I know
not, and much doubt ; for, in Mexico, a sentence and
the execution of it have not the came certainty of con-
nection as cause and effect.

The knife and lasso are not the only drawbacks to
the delightful climate of Central America. Hole
is a description of the plague of mosquitoes.
The river Guasacualco is broad and deep, with a heavy
current, and surrounded by the dense vegetation of a
most luxuriant tropical country. It is now navigable,
for nearly ten leagues from the mouth, for veesels of
goodly draught, and the/harbour, on the Atlantic side,
is much better than that on the Pacific. The region all
around, as far as the eye can wander, is an unbroken
expanse of foliage,—a virgin forest of the mast luxuriant
tropical growth,—rich, blooming, overflowing with
strength acid vitality,—a picture of untrammeled nature
revelling in production and reproduction from an inex-
haustible soil. So tar, everything is worth seeing ; but
there are thorns on this rose ; for the bushes of endless
varieties are powdered over by countless millions of
coe,quitoes, that, on being disturbed, buzz in clouds
around your head, and seem, as a Yankee might say,
" to crowd out" the very atmosphere around you.
Reader, do you know what mosquitoes are l Have
the weary minutes of the night been ever counted on
you by a hundred stiege in each of them I Have you
felt the fever that rages in the blood when the fatigue
of the day draws your bead to the pillow, and sleep
is flagellated out of you by stings that burn like
nettles E If not, you will thiuk this chapter on mos-
quitoes a light matter, to be slipped over in the book of
tropical characteristics ; but experience would teaeh
you to think differently, as it taught me after this
lesson.

We had been forewarned of what was to be expected.
and had brought our mosquito-netting 4 with us, other-
wise we might have been obliged to do to ourselves as
we did to our horse., that is, tied them with double
rope,, to prevent them running into the river from the
sheer madnesi of pain. Poor animals, they were covered
walk bloat in the morning, my white horse had quite a
crimson hue, and ali three of them looked exhausted and
a eery.

An American settler, who lived near the banks of
this river, with his wife and family, retired, every day
at three o'clock in the afteruoon, into the fastnesses
of his mosquito-bare, taking with him provisions for
supper, a book, pipe, and tobacco. Two or three
times the Mdricao G ,verriroent sent a little garrison of
soldiers to an old tort at the mouth of the river ;
but, each time, they died oat rapidly, from fever,
caused mainly from the incessant irritation of mosquito•
bites.

We did sot protract our stay in that neighbourhood,
bat returned, in double-quick time, to. Tehuantepec,
where, at least, the plague of mosquitoes was comport'.
tively unknown.
The work is written in a lively and pleasant style,
full' of anecdotes and adventures. If it does not
present any striking originality, it is, at least, in-
teresting, showing Mexican society from a German
point of view, and affording a pleasant insight into
the manners of the people. We must not omit to
mention the engravings, which are numerous, and
the coloured plates, which are very elegant, and
are a valuable addition to this handsome -volume.