The Zoologist— April, ISTd. 3931 



and they soou get over their fear and resume their play or feeding. Then 

 suddenly a dark mass swoops down and rises again. It is the hawk with a 

 small bird grasped in his strong talons, gasping out its last breath. Its 

 comrades are terror-struck for a moment and dash madly into the thickets, 

 but soon forget their fear. They chirp to each other, the scattered birds 

 reunite ; there is a fluttering and twittering, a rearranging of mates, then 

 again songs, feeding, love, jealousy and bickerings." — P. 257. 



I cannot forbear making another extract on travelling: the deli- 

 cious cool of morning, with all its exhilarating effects ; the noontide 

 heat, and its exhausting power on the human frame ; the welcome 

 return of evening bringing its refreshing, but not entirely compen- 

 sating, influence, could not be more graphically described. 



" The country at first was level, and the roads smooth and dry. The 

 morning was delightfully cool; and as we trotted along our spirits were 

 high and gay, and snatches of song sprang unbidden to our lips. How 

 delightful these rides in the early morning were ! how all nature seemed to 

 be in accord with our feelings ! Every bush and tree were noted, every 

 bird-call heard. We would shout to one another, ' Do you see this or that '? ' 

 or set Rito off in convulsions with some thin joke. Every sense was gratified ; 

 it was like the youth of life. But as the day wore on, the sun would shine 

 hotter and hotter ; what had been a pleasure became a toil ; and we would 

 push on determinedly but silently. The day would wear on, and our 

 shadows come again and begin to lengthen ; the heat of the day was past, 

 but our spirits would not mount to their morning's height. The beautiful 

 flowers, the curious thorny bushes, the gorgeous butterflies, and many- 

 coloured birds, were all there ; but our attention could only be called 

 unwillingly to them. Our jaded animals trudged on with mechanical steps; 

 and, tired ourselves, we thought of nothing but getting to the end of our 

 day's journey, and resting our weary frames." — P. 285. 



In connection with these travelling experiences in a region so 

 little known to Europeans it seems desirable to state its inexpensive 

 character as a leading feature. There is no temptation to spend, 

 indeed scarcely any possibility of spending, in that profuse and 

 extravagant manner which causes the Englishman to be ridiculed 

 and robbed throughout every country in Europe. The travellers 

 were at the residence of Don Filiberto Trano, a " cattle-raiser," 

 which they reached shortly before the conclusion of the journey. 

 The Don's family consisted of a wife and four or five children. 

 They had just prepared a fowl for their own dinner; it was stewing 

 with green beans and other vegetables, and the entire repast was 



