Delaying no longer, the whole army was speedily on the march. For two days they moved gayly along through an enchanting country of luxuriant foliage, waving grain, flowers, and perfume. They encountered no opposition. Indian villages were thickly scattered around, and scenery of surpassing magnificence and loveliness was continually opening before their eyes. On the evening of the second day they arrived at the beautiful town of Jalapa, which was filled with the rural residences of the wealthy natives, and whose elevated site commanded a prospect in which the beautiful and the sublime were most lavishly blended. Still continuing their march through a well-settled country, as they ascended the gradual slope of the Cordilleras, on the fourth day they arrived at Naulinco. This was a large and populous town, containing many massive temples, whose altars were ever crimsoned with human gore. The adventurers were received here, however, with great kindness. The sight of these heathen temples inspired Cortez, as usual, with intense zeal to convert the natives to Christianity. Time pressed, and it was not safe to indulge in delay. The Indians were bewildered rather than instructed by the exhortations of the Spanish priests. They, however, consented that Cortez should rear a large cross in the centre of their market-place as a memorial of his visit. The enthusiastic Spaniard devoutly hoped that the sight of the cross alone would excite the devotion of the natives. They had now ascended far up the gentle ascent of the Cordilleras, and were entering the defiles of the mountains. Here they encountered rugged paths, and fierce storms of wind and sleet. A weary march of three days brought them to the high and extended table-land so characteristic of this country, seven thousand feet above the level of the sea. Here they found a fertile and flowery savanna extending before them for many leagues. The country was highly cultivated, and luxuriantly adorned with hedges, with groves, with waving fields of maize, and with picturesque towns and villages. God did indeed seem to smile upon these reckless adventurers. Thus far their march had been as a delightful holiday excursion.