282 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 



on the contrary, I made allowances: a thunder- 

 storm, the whirlwind, a blight from heaven might 

 have robbed it of its bloom, and caused its present 

 forbidding appearance. And, in leaving the for- 

 est, I carried away the impression, that though 

 some few of the trees were defective, the rest 

 were an ornament to the wilds, full of uses and 

 virtues, and capable of benefiting the world in a 

 superior degree. 



A man generally travels into foreign countries 

 for his own ends ; and I suspect there is scarcely 

 an instance to be found of a person leaving his 

 own home solely with the intention of benefiting 

 those amongst whom he is about to travel. A 

 commercial speculation, curiosity, a wish for in- 

 formation, a desire to reap benefit from an ac- 

 quaintance with our distant fellow-creatures, are 

 the general inducements for a man to leave his 

 own fire-side. This ought never to be forgotten; 

 and then the traveller will journey on under the 

 persuasion that it rather becomes him to court 

 than expect to be courted, as his own interest is. 

 the chief object of his travels. With this in view, 

 he will always render himself pleasant to the na- 

 tives; and they are sure to repay his little acts 

 of courtesy with ample interest, and with a fund 

 of information which will be of great service to 

 him. 



While in the United States, I found our western 

 brother a very pleasant fellow; but his portrait 

 has been drawn in such different shades, by dif- 

 ferent travellers who have been through his terri- 

 tory, that it requires a personal interview before, 

 a correct idea can be formed of his true colours. 



