1S4 THE UPPER AMAZOXS. Chap. III. 



very intelligible. One day, soon after my arrival, when 

 I was explaining these things to a listening circle 

 seated on benches in the grassy street, one of the 

 audience, a considerable tradesman, a Mameluco native 

 of Ega, got suddenly quite enthusiastic, and exclaimed 

 " How rich are these great nations of Europe ! We 

 half-civilised creatures know nothing. Let us treat this 

 stranger well, that he may stay amongst us and teach 

 our children." We very frequently had social parties, 

 with dancing and so forth ; of these relaxations I shall 

 have more to say presently. The manners of the 

 Indian population also gave me some amusement for a 

 long time. During the latter part of my residence, 

 three wandering Frenchmen, and two Italians, some of 

 them men of good education, on their road one after 

 the other from the Ancles down the Amazons, became 

 enamoured of this delightfully-situated and tranquil 

 spot, and made up their minds to settle here for the 

 remainder of their lives. Three of them ended by 

 marrying native women. I found the society of these 

 friends a very agreeable change. 



There were, of course, many drawbacks to the ame- 

 nities of the place as a residence for a European ; but 

 these were not of the nature that my readers would per- 

 haps imagine. There was scarcely any danger from wild 

 animals : it seems almost ridiculous to refute the idea 

 of danger from the natives in a country where even 

 incivility to an unoffending stranger is a rarity. A 

 Jaguar, however, paid us a visit one night. It was con- 

 sidered an extraordinary event, and so much uproar 

 was made by the men who turned out with guns and 



