230 Ldle Days in Patagonia. 
and are only a little removed from other mammalians, 
their superiority in this respect being only sufficient 
to counterbalance their physical disadvantages. 
That instinctive state of the human mind, when the 
higher faculties appear to be non-existent, a state 
of intense alertness and preparedness, which com- 
pels the man to watch and listen and go silently and 
stealthily, must be like that of the lower animals: 
the brain is then like a highly-polished mirror, in 
which all visible nature—every hill, tree, leaf—is 
reflected with miraculous clearness; and we can 
imagine that if the animal could think and reason, 
thought would be superfluous and a hindrance, since 
it would dim that bright perception on which his 
safety depends. 
That is a part, the lesser part, of the lesson I 
learnt in the Patagonian solitude: the second larger 
part must be cut very short; for on all sides it 
leads to other questions, some of which would 
probably be thought “ more curious than edifying.” 
That hidden fiery core is nearer to us than we 
ordinarily imagine, and its heat still permeates the 
crust to keep us warm. ‘This is, no doubt, a matter 
of annoyance and even grief to those who grow im- 
patient at Nature’s unconscionable slowness; who 
wish to be altogether independent of such an under- 
lying brute energy; to live on a cool crust and 
rapidly grow angelic. But, as things are, it is, 
perhaps, better to be still, for a while, a little lower 
than the angels: we are hardly in a position just 
yet to dispense with the unangelic qualities, even in 
