THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



His wife proved an excellent cook ; and ferved us with 

 fifh and game of different forts, and various kinds of heath- 

 berries, that had been kept fince the lafl year. Whilft we 

 were at dinner in this miferable hut, the guefls of a people, 

 with whofe exiflence we had before been fcarce acquainted, 

 and at the extremity of the habitable globe, a folitary, half- 

 worn pewter fpoon, whofe fhape was familiar to us, at- 

 tracted our attention ; and, on examination, we found it 

 ftamped on the back with the word London. I cannot pafs 

 over this circumftance in filence, out of gratitude for the 

 many pleafant thoughts, the anxious hopes, and tender re- 

 membrances it excited in us. Thofe, who have experienced 

 the effects that long abfence and extreme diflancc from their 

 native country produce on the mind, will readily conceive 

 the pleafure fuch trifling incidents can give. To the philo- 

 fopher and the politician they may perhaps fugged reflec- 

 tions of a different nature. 



We were now to quit the river, and perform the next part 

 of our journey on fledges ; but the thaw had been too power- 

 ful in the day-time, to allow us to fet out, till the cold of 

 the evening had again made the furface of the fnow hard 

 and firm. This gave us an opportunity of walking about 

 the village, which was the only place we had yet feen 

 free from fnow fince we landed in this country. It flood 

 upon a well-wooded flat, of about a mile and a half in cir- 

 cumference. The leaves were juft budding, and the verdure 

 of the whole fcene was flrongly contrafted with the fides of 

 the furrounding hills, which were flill covered with fnow. 

 As the foil appeared to me very capable of producing all the 

 common forts of garden vegetables, I was greatly furprifed 

 not to find the fmalleft fpot any where cultivated. If to 

 this we add, that none of the inhabitants were poiTcfled of 

 cattle of any fort, nothing can be well conceived more 

 Vol. III. D d wretched 



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