TOE ADYESTCKES OF A TOCSTG XATCBALJST. z\l 



"It is the dew, Chanito; it is almost as abundant as the 

 night dews in the Terre-Cheiudf? 



"Are not morning and night dews the same thing?' 

 Xot exactly,** I replied ; the morning dew is general- 

 ly of a beneficial nature; but the Mexicans dread the other, 

 which faUs after sunset, and is said to be productive of 

 fever.** 



"But from whence does all this moisture come f 

 " From the air, which always contains a certain quantity, 

 some of which it deposits on the ground, on stones and 

 plants, as they become cool by radiation. 7 ' 



Just at this moment our attention was attracted by the 

 first raj of the sun, which, piercing through a light cloud, 

 shot across the plain like a bright arrow. The horizon, 

 whkL had been risible, was now obscured by a mist, which 

 gradually rolled towards us. By degrees, however, it drew 

 off, and the trees a short distance away showed their round- 

 ed tops ; while wide breaks opened here and there in the 

 Yefl,and vanished as quickly as they had 



The telescope was passed from hand to hand, and each 

 tried to discover if there was a hut where the glimmering 

 fire had been descried the night before. The search was in 

 vain ; the reflection of the sun's rays quite dazzled us, and 

 restricted the prospect ; but, once in the right course, we 

 might advance without fear of missing our point, and, ac- 

 cording to our calculations, we would meet with habitations 

 the next day or the following. 



Gringsletfs tongue hung out of his mouth ; he found the 

 journey over the nitrous sofl very irksome, and the scanty 

 leaves of the mimosa failed to screen him from the ran. 

 What a contrast it was to the pleasant regions we had 

 hitherto travelled through ! 



" Your country, after au, is not so nice an one as mine,"* 

 said Lncien, addressing FEncuerado. 



