gray moss, hanging over every branch like long gray hair, giving them a
most venerable and druidical look.

We wandered through the noble avenues, and rested under the trees, and
walked through the tangled shrubberies, bright with flowers and coloured
berries, and groped our way into the cave, and stood by the large clear
tank, and spent some time in the old garden; and then got again into the
carriage, that we might be dragged up the precipitous ascent on which
stands the castle, the construction of which aroused the jealousy of the
government against the young count, whose taste for the picturesque had
induced him to choose this elevated site for his summer palace.

The interior was never finished; yet, even as it stands, it cost the
Spanish government three hundred thousand dollars. When we look at its
strong military capabilities and commanding position, fortified with
salient walls and parapets towards Mexico, and containing on its northern
side great moats and subterraneous vaults, capable of holding a vast supply
of provisions, the jealousy of the government, and their suspicions that it
was a fortress masked as a summer retreat, are accountable enough.

The Vice-Queen Galvez, was celebrated for her beauty and goodness, and was
universally adored in Mexico. A sister of hers, who still survives, and who
paid me a visit the other day, says that her beauty chiefly consisted in
the exceeding fairness of her complexion, very few _blondes_ having then
been seen in this part of the world.

From the terrace that runs round the castle, the view forms the most
magnificent panorama that can be imagined. The whole valley of Mexico lies
stretched out as in a map; the city itself, with its innumerable churches
and convents; the two great aqueducts which cross the plain; the avenues of