Ajusco, is a village south of Tlalpam:--Chalco, lies on the borders of the lake of that name, and is surrounded by the villages of Acohualpan, Totolapan, Tapostlan, Jico, Tlapacoya, Xochimilco, Mexicalcingo, Iztapalapan, Colhuacan, Huitzilopocho, Itztacualco, Churubusco, and Cuyuacan, most of which are inhabited by Indians and Mestizos who supply the markets of the capital. The Indians of Chalco, with their _caballos de palo_ or "wooden horses," as they fancifully call their boats, carry on an extensive trade with Mexico and its vicinity. They navigate their lake and the canal leading to it with great dexterity; and large boats, capable of containing fifty or sixty persons, are almost daily seen leaving the landings at Mexico in order to convey passengers and freight to the neighboring country. Tezcoco, lies on the eastern shore of the lake of that name, opposite Mexico, and at the distance of about 12 miles. It is no longer a town of much importance, but is interesting for its historical associations and for the ancient remains within its limits and neighborhood which will be subsequently described. Tacuba is the site of the Spanish army's refuge after the _noche triste_ or "melancholy night," during which Cortéz and his band were driven from the Aztec capital in the year 1520. The image of the _Virgin of Remedios_, has been generally kept in a chapel in this village, and has often been brought to the capital in seasons of danger, distress or disease. TLANEPANTLA; QUAUTITLAN; SAN TOMAS; SAN CRISTOVAL XALTOCAN; TONANTLA; TEHUILOYUCA; ZUMPANGO; HUEHUETOCA; are towns and villages north of Mexico. SAN JUAN DE TEOTIHUACAN, and OTUMBA, lie east of the lake of Tezcoco, and are interesting for the fertility of their neighborhood and for their antiquities. A ridge of lofty mountains, west of the capital, rising from the plain beyond the limits of Tacubaya separates the valley of Mexico from the valley of Toluca, in which is found the town of TOLUCA at the foot of the porphyritic mountains of San Miguel Tutucuitlalpillo, at an elevation of 8,606 feet above the level of the sea. It is a beautiful town, celebrated for its soap and candle factories; and the epicures of hams and sausages, procure their choicest dainties from its neighborhood. Lerma, lies on the banks of the pond from which the river Lerma springs; and Istlahuaca, twelve leagues from Toluca, is found in a spur of the same valley. [Illustration: THE CASCADE OF REGLA.] The elevations, north of the valley of Toluca, which separate it from the valley of the river Tula, vary from 10,000 to 7,500 feet, and, in the bosom of the latter vale, is found the town of TULA, twenty-two leagues north-west of the capital. It is regularly built, on broad streets, and is celebrated for its Sunday-market, to which the Indians and Mestizos of the adjacent country flock in numbers.