284 HOW TO PRESERVE THE SKTN 



onward he goes^, from daylight till dark, as long 

 as he can get relays of horses ; never thinking of 

 the journey he has performed, only how much 

 more remains to be accomplished. But for my 

 own part, I was differently situated, being 

 obliged to ride hard in order to save the packet ; 

 had this not been the case, I do not think that I 

 should have been in such a mighty hurry, or ex- 

 posed my fair face to the sun's scorching rays in 

 the manner I did ; and, but (don't let me shock 

 the fair sex) for greasing it well, instead of ap- 

 plying water and soap, I should have had all 

 the skin off long before my arrival at Buenos 

 Ayres : this, by way of a hint to travellers, is a 

 secret which I learnt during my travels in South 

 Africa, and which, now it is out, may account 

 for my not losing all the skin off my nose, in 

 crossing the Cordillera, during the severe winter. 

 Thanks to a couple of inches of tallow-candle, I 

 saved it all without crack or blemish : it is an 

 excellent cosmetic for rendering the skin pleas- 

 ingly soft and fair ; for summer or winter. 



