Gh.II. south AMERICA. 227 



ed with my name, though he had never seen me ; 

 but observing me dressed in the garb of the Mestizos, 

 and the lowest class of people, the only habit in 

 which we could perform our operations, he took me 

 for one of the servants, and began to examine me; 

 and I was determined not to undeceive him till he 

 had finished. Among other things, he told me, that 

 neither he nor any body else would believe, that the 

 ascertaining the figure and magnitude of the earth, as 

 we pretended, could ever induce us to lead such a 

 dismal and uncouth life ; that, hov.-ever we might 

 deny it, we had doubtless discovered many rich mi- 

 nerals on those lofty deserts; adding, that persons in 

 his circumstances were not to be satisfied with fine 

 words. Here I laboured to remove the prejudices he 

 entertained against onr operations ; but all I could 

 say only tended to confirm him in his notion; and, at 

 parting, he added, thac, doubtless, by our profound 

 knowledge in the magic art, we might make much 

 greater discoveries than those who were ignorant of it. 

 These opinions were blended with others equally ab- 

 surd and ridiculous; but I found it impossible to un- 

 deceive him, and accordingly left him to enjoy his 

 own notions. 



Our series of triangles? in the south part being 

 finished, and a second base measured by each com- 

 pany to prove the truth of our work, we began our 

 astronomical observations; but, our instruments not 

 being perfectly adapted to that intention, we were 

 obliged, in the month of December of the same year, 

 to return to Quito, in order to construct another, on 

 whose accurac}» we could safely rely ; and this em- 

 ployed us till the first of August of the following 

 year 1740; when, without any further loss of time, 

 we again repaired to Cuenqa, and immediately began 

 our observations : but these, being very tedious, were 

 not finished before the end of September ; the at- 

 mosphere of that country being very unfavourable to 



Q 2 astrono- 



