FIRE ON THE PAMPAS. 



43 



ing host^ who was a fat^ jolly, good-natured man, 

 did every thing to make his miserable abode as 

 comfortable to us as possible. These people have 

 many amiable qualities — that of urbanity of man- 

 ners in particular : I wish I could say that my 

 own countrymen possessed half their politeness : 

 give way a little to their humour, and they may 

 be made any thing of. This poor man, humbly 

 and miserably as he was situated, living with 

 his wife and two daughters, in a perfect desert, 

 gave up the only room he had for our service ; 

 and when he sat down to eat with us, did not 

 touch his meat without first crossing himself, 

 and breathing a prayer of thanks to his Maker. 

 While we were at our supper inside, we had a 

 noble view without : the thistles had been set on 

 fire to clear the land, and for miles was it to be 

 seen blazing and marching majestically along 

 the horizon, a wilderness of fire. Our Peons 

 had also two blazing fires, which they were as- 

 sembled close round, cooking their suppers ; not 

 a breath of wind moved over the quiet -scene. 



