FROM SAN LUIS TO BOSAEIO. 33 



himself among his superiors, he insisted upon going with me. All the women in the house 

 were called in requisition to fit him out, and half an hour afterwards the illustrious Don made 

 his appearance "dressed to kill" in a hlue broadcloth jacket and pants, and a red gold-laced 

 waistcoat; the suit, he told me, in which he liad been married, and which he never wore except 

 on special occasions. Thus equipped, he set out to accompany me, evidently expecting to be 

 treated according to his cloth ; the eyes of an admiring mother, wife, and child — to say nothing 

 of the cook — following us till we were out of sight. Greatly to his disappointment and 

 mortification, he was received in a manner decidedly contemptuous. As soon as he had made known 

 the object of my visit, Don Martin invited me into the parlor, and turning to Pancho, dismissed 

 him with a "Very well, my man; the gentleman now knows the house, and you can go." 

 Poor Pancho retired, crest-fallen, and on my return I foimd him in his dirty every-day suit, 

 very much overcome with liquor. 



One of my fellow lodgers at the posada — in which there was only one room for travellers, 

 serving as bed-room, dining-room, and parlor — was an old Bolivian, who used to bore me a geat 

 deal by talking about the dangers of travelling, which he illustrated by narratives of personal 

 adventures. One evening a person dressed as an officer called, and informed me a lady 

 who was a half country-woman of mine — her father having been an Englishman — had seen me 

 the day of my arrival, and learning that I had difficulty in obtaining lodgings, was about 

 inviting me to her house, when told that I had found accommodations, but she had deputed 

 him to say that she should be happy to see me. As it was . dull enough at the posada, 

 I accepted the invitation, and while dressing for the visit, noticed that the Bolivian was very 

 uneasy. He made several signs to me, and finally, during a momentary absence of the ofScer, 

 told me I ought not to go alone with that person, because he had a notoriously bad character, 

 and would entice me to some out of the way place and rob me. Finding that I paid no atten- 

 tion to his warnings, he requested my arriero to follow to prevent foul play ; but I soon put a 

 stop to that, by sending the arriero to give some directions about the horses, and finally sallied 

 out in company with my military friend, whose features, I must confess, were not very prepos- 

 sessing. 



Although I had despised the warnings of the Bolivian, a nervous feeling came over me when 

 I found myself alone with my companion. This made me regret I had not brought a pistol, and 

 induced me to open a sharp penknife, which was held in readiness for use. Armed with this, 

 I proceeded three or four squares along dark and solitary streets, keeping close to my com- 

 panion, watching every movement with the vigilance of a cat, and expecting him to turn on 

 me at every dark place we passed. I had become so nervous with the idea, that I am certain 

 if he had stumbled against me by accident, or had made the least movement of a hand towards 

 his knife, I should have stabbed him on the spot, without waiting to learn his intentions. The 

 open, door of one of the best houses in the place, the cordial welcome of a well-dressed and 

 fine-looking lady and her family, and the dignified reception of an elderly Don Marido, into 

 whose house my companion ushered me, drove away apprehensions, and gave place to a 

 feeling t>f shame and mortification for my cowardice. 



We passed an agreeable evening, heard some excellent singing from the lady of the house, 

 who accompanied herself on the guitar, and returned to the posada sworn friends. After this, 

 I stopped the Bolivian's grog — which he had been drinking at my expense — and found, from 

 his altered manner towards me, that this was the only link of sympathy between us. 



You will perceive there was wanting only a knave to make this an adventure. The fool was 

 already supplied in my proper self. 



One of the few amusing incidents that happened on the journey was at this place. Among 

 the articles of small-stores remaining of those laid in at Santiago, was the shell of a 

 Dutch cheese. On the road this had attracted the attention of my arriero, who greatly won- 

 dered at a shape and color so ditferent from the cheeses of the country; and on our arrival, 

 he had informed the keeper of the posada that I possessed this great curiosity. It soon became 

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