THE VOYAGE OF THE HASSLER 155 



hills. My spirits began to rise. Had we dined any- 

 where on the road? No. Directly then we could per- 

 ceive that great preparations began in the yard be- 

 low; the fatted calf, in other words, sundry chickens 

 were about to be killed and other preparations made 

 for our entertainment. In about two hours (which 

 this friendly neighbor employed in showing Agassiz 

 about the banks of the river where he was interested 

 in the geology) dinner was served; the tablecloth was 

 perfectly clean, the service nice; the dinner consisted 

 of half a dozen courses of meat preceded by soup; the 

 wines w^ere excellent, the fruit abundant, that is de- 

 licious grapes heaped up without stint. Now I began 

 to see preparations for the night, and after a casual 

 glimpse of the chambers, I was inexpressibly relieved 

 to find two beds made up not only neatly but with 

 the finest linen, embroidered and marked and fresh 

 and neat as it could be. The comfort of the bed I 

 shall never forget; I was so tired and wanted a good 

 sleep so much. 



The next morning I sat on the piazza and watched 

 the scenes on the river, and fascinating they were. 

 Teams of fifty or one hundred mules would come 

 winding down from the opposite hillsides and ford the 

 river, guided by a mounted horseman here and there, 

 perhaps two or three to a troop. The river was wide 

 and deep; the animals were up to the breasts in 

 water, and the whole scene, the neighing, and cries of 

 the men, the struggles of the mules, was exciting and 

 interesting to me. Then there were many carts cross- 

 ing dragged by oxen and rafts full of people, the coun- 



