LAMAS AND TICUNAS. 269 



Which is, that while they are preparing this poison in the country, 

 they oblige some criminal old womau to take care of the boiling of 

 this poison, after shutting her up alone in a separate place ; so that 

 when this woman dies, it is a sign that the poison is sufficiently 

 boiled, and that it has all the qualities requisite to make it good. 

 But lie was soon made sensible of his imprudence ; the door of the 

 closet, where the young lad above mentioned staid, was open; and 

 from the next chamber he saw that the lad, who had been there 

 about three quarters of an hour, sat still, with his arms across. Me 

 began to reprimand him for his laziness, but he excused himself by 

 answering, with a trembling voice, that he was sick at heart, and 

 felt himself very faint. It is easy to imagine the uneasiness which 

 this sight gave M. H.; but luckily it cost him no more than the 

 fright. He made the lad come out of the closet immediately, let 

 him down into the yard, and made him swallow a pint of good 

 wine, in which he had dissolved a quarter of a pound of sugar. He 

 recovered his strength by degrees, and was soon able to return 

 to his own home, very merry and happy, without the least notion 

 of the danger he had been in. Some days afterwards he came to 

 M. II. and assured him that he had not felt the least indisposition 

 since the day in question. 



The fact above related was shocking enough to have made M. H. 

 abandon his project ; however curiosity got the better of his fear, 

 and he even took a strong fancy to repeat the experiment. It: 

 would have been inhuman, not to say criminal, to make it on any 

 other person but himself; therefore he resolved to run the risk, or 

 rather persuaded himself, that he should run none, because he 

 should be timely enough to flee from the danger, as soon as the 

 effect of the poison should come to a certain pitch. Besides, he 

 was encouraged by the good success of the foregoing example. 

 Therefore he disposed every thing as at the first time, and he stayed 

 in the closet. In about an hour's time he perceived his legs to 

 bend under him, and his arms became so weak, that he could 

 scarcely use them. He had but just time enough to come quickly 

 out of the closet, and get down into the yard ; where he ordered 

 wine and sugar to be brought him, as he had before done for tiki 

 young lad. Such was the first danger, which he incurred in pre- 

 paring the American poison : the second was not inferior to it. 



After having dissolved the poison of Ticunas in water, and re. 



