and the dying, and wondering, with a shudder, what might not be the
ignoble cravings of the gruesome flock.


II. PUEBLA AND MEXICO--GENERAL DE LORENCEZ--GENERAL ZARAGOZA

The health-officers who boarded the steamer at Vera Cruz gave us
unexpected and startling news. The French army had been repulsed with
serious loss before Puebla. The direct route, by which the trip from
Vera Cruz to Mexico via Orizaba--one hundred and ten leagues--could be
made in four days,* was blocked by the contending armies. If we wished
to proceed on our journey, we must do so via Jalapa, a much longer
route. The discomforts of this road were, moreover, complicated by the
fact that it was now infested by a large number of guerrillas,--one
might as well say highwaymen,--who made it difficult for travelers to
pass unmolested, unless through some special arrangement. This my
companions were confident could easily be settled; but some days might
be spent in negotiations, and the health-officers said that the yellow
fever was raging as it had not raged for years. The presence of so many
foreigners had added to its violence, and the French garrison could be
maintained only by constant reinforcements.

* It can now be made by rail in ten hours.

Upon landing, our little party went directly to the house of Mr. Lelong,
the hospitable French banker who in Vera Cruz represented the house of
Labadie & Co. Here we remained five days, enjoying every comfort, while
the necessary preparations were being made for our somewhat perilous
journey to the capital. I then heard for the first time the details of
the disaster brought upon the French by General de Lorencez's wilful