Soon after my arrival I was informed that a small schooner called the Rosita was about to sail for Campeachy and that her skipper would take a few passengers. I accordingly made arrangements with him and went on board. I found that the only accommodation was the open hold under the main hatch. Here on the top of the cargo, made smooth and level for the purpose, were placed mats. We embarked two ladies and some Spanish officials and left La Laguna at daylight. The wind was against us and we had to make a long tack towards the Yucatan coast, near Champoton. During the night the wind became more favourable and in the forenoon we sighted the white walls of Campeachy. The cathedral and mediæval fortifications looked very picturesque from the sea as we approached the coast. The Rosita did not draw much water, so we were able to anchor within half a mile of the landing place. I was glad to find in the town a tolerable inn called the Paloma, and a worthy, attentive landlord named Ruiz. The constant exposure and the hardships endured latterly had seriously affected my constitution, and I felt weak and ill. It was a comfort to get shelter and quiet, and the shade and rest which was obtained by having a large room opening upon an inner court. Here I remained for several days suffering from very severe headaches and without feeling that I was, in any perceptible degree, regaining my strength. On the morning of the fifth day I heard a gentle tap at the door, and my landlady asked if she could come in. She looked at me with much sympathy and said, “Señor, may I speak to you?” I replied, “Certainly.” She then said, “Señor, you have upon you the lagoon fever, from which strangers seldom recover, and I have come to ask you where you keep your money and where your friends live, so that I may be able to carry out your wishes.” I said, “My kind donna, perhaps I may get better if I change the air. Do you know how I can get away?” The landlady looked pleased and said that she knew that a certain Señor Escalanta was about to start for a village called Tzibalché, and that perhaps he would share with me the expenses of a conveyance. This arrangement was made, and in the forenoon a covered cart, with three mules harnessed abreast, was drawn up at the door of the inn. I took my place upon a mattress, and before midday we were several leagues away breathing the pure and bracing air of the open country. The change acted like magic. The fever seemed almost immediately to leave me, but there remained a persistent headache.