SOUTH AMERICA. 155 



bleak and naked, as if quite neglected, are. like ECOND 



JOURNEY. 



Potosi, full of precious metals. 



Let us now return the pinions we borrowed conclusion. 

 from Icarus, and prepare to bid farewell to the 

 wilds. The time allotted to these wanderings 

 is drawing fast to a close. Every day for the 

 last six months has been employed in paying 

 close attention to natural history in the forests 

 of Demerara. Above two hundred specimens 

 of the finest birds have been collected, and a 

 pretty just knowledge formed of their haunts 

 and economy. From the time of leaving Eng- 

 land, in March, 1816, to the present day, nothing 

 has intervened to arrest a fine flow of health, 

 saving a quartan ague, which did not tarry, but 

 fled as suddenly as it appeared. 



And now I take leave of thee, kind and gentle 

 reader. The new mode of preserving birds, 

 heretofore promised thee, shall not be forgotten. 

 The plan is already formed in imagination, and 

 can be penned down during the passage across 

 the Atlantic. If the few remarks in these wander- 

 ings shall have any weight in inciting thee to sally 

 forth, and explore the vast and well-stored regions 

 of Demerara, I have gained my end. Adieu. 



CHARLES WATERTON. 

 April 6, 1817. 



