of Jalapa, although poorly cultivated, produces maize, wheat, grapes,
and jalap, from which plant the well-known medicine is prepared, and the
town takes its name. A little lower down the Cordillera grows the
vanilla, the bean of which is so highly esteemed for its aromatic
flavour.

[Illustration: TOWN OF JALAPA, IN MEXICO]

The road from Jalapa to the city of Mexico constantly ascends, and the
scenery is mountainous and grand; the villages are but few, and fifteen
or twenty miles apart, with a very scanty population. No signs of
cultivation are to be seen, except little patches of maize and chilé, in
the midst of which is sometimes to be seen an Indian hut formed of reeds
and flags. The mode of travelling in this country is by diligences, but
these are continually attacked and robbed; and so much is this a matter
of course, that the Mexicans invariably calculate a certain sum for the
expenses of the road, including the usual fee for the banditti. Baggage
is sent by the muleteers, by which means it is ensured from all danger,
although a long time on the road. The Mexicans never think of resisting
these robbers, and a coach-load of eight or nine is often stopped and
plundered by one man. The foreigners do not take matters so quietly, and
there is scarcely an English or American traveller in the country who
has not come to blows in a personal encounter with the banditti at some
period or other of his adventures.

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