A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



Our slumbers were interrupted towards morning by the fre- 

 quent cries of a flight of passerines, called "alarum-birds " {desper- 

 tadores) by the Mexicans. It was hardly light, and, in spite of 

 I'Encuerado's predictions, it had not rained. The light of our 

 fire, when we stirred it, soon drove away our winged friends ; 

 but, thanks to their waking us, the first rays of the sun found 

 us all ready to set out. Just as we were going to start, an 

 unforeseen difi&culty arose — how to cross the ravine and ford 

 the river ? L'Encuerado said that it would be necessary to go 

 up-stream; I, also, agreed with him. Sumichrast, on the con- 



. trary, was of opinion that there was much more chance of the 

 banks becoming less steep if we went in the opposite direction ; 

 he carried the day, and led the way, cutting a passage through 

 the shrubs with his machete. 



As we were determined to skirt the edge of the water, we could 

 not get along without great difficulty. The noise of the torrent, 

 which seemed to grow louder, attracted us towards the forest, 

 where the absence of grass and underwood enabled us to get on 

 faster. The trees grew farther and farther apart, and we again 



' came upon brushwood, ere long coming out on to a plain, dotted 

 here and there with guava trees. These trees furnished us with 

 a quantity of green fruit, of which we were all very fond. 

 L'Encuerado availed himself of this unexpected harvest by filling 

 up all the gaps in his basket with them. The wild guava, a sort 

 of myrtle, which grows naturally in the Terre-Tempirie, reaches to 

 a height of several feet. Its fruit, which seldom gets ripe before 

 it is eaten by the birds, or larvae, is luscious, highly scented, and 

 full of pips ; they have the reputation of being antifebrile and 

 astringent. When the shrub is cultivated, its appearance changes 

 considerably; its branches grow longer, and are covered with 

 leaves which are silvery on the back, and the fruit they yield are 

 as large as lemons, which they resemble in shape and colour. 



We all put on our travelling gear again ; but when I'Encuerado 

 wanted to place the basket on his back, he found he could not 

 possibly lift it up. I helped him, trying all the time to persuade 

 him to throw away half his stock ; but he resolutely refused to 

 follow my advice. When he began to walk, he staggered like a 



