THE VOYAGE OF THE HASSLER 155 
hills. My spirits began to rise. Had we dined any- 
where on the road? No. Directly then we could per- 
ceive that great preparations began in the yard be- 
low; the fatted calf, in other words, sundry chickens 
were about to be killed and other preparations made 
for our entertainment. In about two hours (which 
this friendly neighbor employed in showing Agassiz 
about the banks of the river where he was interested 
in the geology) dinner was served; the tablecloth was 
perfectly clean, the service nice; the dinner consisted 
of half a dozen courses of meat preceded by soup; the 
wines were excellent, the fruit abundant, that is de- 
licious grapes heaped up without stint. Now I began 
to see preparations for the night, and after a casual 
glimpse of the chambers, I was inexpressibly relieved 
to find two beds made up not only neatly but with 
the finest linen, embroidered and marked and fresh 
and neat as it could be. The comfort of the bed I 
shall never forget; I was so tired and wanted a good 
sleep so much. 
The next morning I sat on the piazza and watched 
the scenes on the river, and fascinating they were. 
Teams of fifty or one hundred mules would come 
winding down from the opposite hillsides and ford the 
river, guided by a mounted horseman here and there, 
perhaps two or three to a troop. The river was wide 
and deep; the animals were up to the breasts in 
water, and the whole scene, the neighing, and cries of 
the men, the struggles of the mules, was exciting and 
interesting to me. Then there were many carts cross- 
ing dragged by oxen and rafts full of people, the coun- 
