LETTERS FROM BRAZIL 87 



however. Agassiz, being restless, rose at about one 

 o'clock and thinking he would take a little stroll to 

 refresh himself, went out in front of the house. There 

 he found a dog entangled in the fence near by. He 

 went to release him, and as he was engaged in his 

 work of charity was saluted by a brickbat, a large 

 stone meant for the side of his head, but which fortu- 

 nately struck him only in the arm and gave him a se- 

 vere bruise. The next morning we found that one of 

 the blacks of the house, with his head full of the dis- 

 appearance of the priest's calf and the last night's 

 quarrel, I suppose, seeing a man at the fence, thought 

 he was a thief after the live stock and flung a great 

 stone at his head as the shortest way of finishing him 

 and his depredations. If his aim had been as good as his 

 arm was strong, Agassiz might never have finished his 

 Amazonian journey. As it was, for a moment, he 

 thought his arm was broken, but with a little arnica it 

 is coming right again and the pain going off. Our 

 good hosts were greatly distressed at this untimely 

 disturbance of their hospitable intentions. However 

 we had a very pleasant and a very amusing time not- 

 withstanding our adventures, and had a good sleep 

 undisturbed by mosquitoes, though I confess to lying 

 awake for some time listening to the rats in the open 

 ceiling above, who every now and then shook a little 

 dust down on my head, suggesting the probability of 

 their coming down themselves ; and once I was awak- 

 ened by the cat drinking out of the bath tub, which 

 the negress had brought in and put down at the side 

 of my hammock just before I went to sleep. 



