CHILIAN COUNTllY HOUSE. 141 



and at the tea-table, near it, the lady of the house 

 and her daughters received us most kindly. We 

 soon became acquainted; and while one of the 

 young ladies went out to gather some flowers for 

 us, another opened the piano-forte at our request, 

 and played very good-naturedly, while we sat 

 chatting with the old people, who were entreating 

 us to stay the night. There was something so un- 

 expected in this kind of reception ; and the peo- 

 ple themselves were so obliging and agreeable, 

 that I, for one, was very reluctant to quit such 

 good quarters : but as it was deemed necessary 

 by the rest to go on, we mounted our jaded horses 

 again with a very bad grace. 



But the charms of the night scene were now 

 all gone, and the wild embellishments with which 

 fancy, an hour before, had dressed up the scenery, 

 were supplanted by the dark and comfortless real- 

 ity. Every thing seemed to go wrong ; the road 

 was full of holes ; the travellers weary of them- 

 selves, and of one another, and the journey was 

 never to be at an end ! At length, after a tedi- 

 ous ride, we reached the Chacra, or farm, to which 

 we were bound, and had proceeded about half- 



