492 NATURAL HISTORY OF 



sheets, soaking us pretty thoroughly. At Simao Pereira, 

 where we dismounted while the mules were being changed, 

 we saw a beautiful sickle-billed humming-bird sucking honey 

 from the flowers of a Gladiolus in a small patch of garden- 

 ground in front of a house. It began to get dark by the time 

 we reached San Mathias, the last stage in our journey, and 

 after passing it we drove on in the darkness between thick 

 woods, halting after a time at a place whose name I did 

 not ascertain, where was only a stable for mules. Here we 

 got fresh quadrupeds for the last time, as well as lights to 

 guide us on our way, and again pursued our course. A few 

 miles from St. Juiz da Fora the ground on either side of us 

 was low and marshy in its character ; and here there was the 

 most magnificent display of fireflies which I have ever wit- 

 nessed, hundreds of these insects flitting about in every direc- 

 tion, some flying so high as to counterfeit falling stars ; and 

 others, when seen through the trees, deluding us into the 

 belief that we saw the lights of dwellings. We got into the 

 town between seven and eight, not having the most vague 

 idea as to what hotels it possessed, or which we should select ; 

 and as all our fellow-travellers were Brazilian, and only spoke 

 Portuguese, of which our knowledge was very limited, we 

 were not able to derive much information upon the subject 

 from them. However, we dismounted at a hotel where seve- 

 ral of the other passengers left the coach, entering a low one- 

 storeyed building, at the doorway of which a group of people 

 were congregated, and were immediately conducted by a 

 youth to a clean, but very meagrely-furnished, double-bedded 

 room, with a door about twelve feet high. I then began the 

 usual formula of — "Do you speak English?" but received 

 an emphatic shake of the head, and having tried " Parlez 

 vous rran9ais ?" and " Sprechen sie Deutsch ? " with the same 



