140 



PASSAGE ACROSS 



are there protected from their enemies by plants or 

 foliage which resemble them ; and as I knew there 

 were a great number of lions about Villa Vicencia, 

 and could see the track of their large feet in my 

 path, I began to think that some of them were 

 really lying before me. However, it seemed foolish 

 to stop, and therefore I continued for some time ; at 

 last, coming to a small coppery vein in the rock, I 

 thought it would be a good excuse to inspect it, so 

 I remained there cracking the stones till two of my 

 party came up, and their first observation to me 

 was, how very like the substances around us were 

 to lions. 



One of the party had a horse's leg in his hand. 

 He told me that he had never been so tired in his 

 life ; that his mule, in mounting the hill, had be- 

 come quite exhausted ; and that, when he got off to 

 lead her, she would not follow him : that, in de- 

 spair, he made her drink up his flask of brandy, 

 and that then, taking as a whip a dried-up horse''s 

 leg that was lying on the ground, he remounted 

 the mule, which had gone very well ever since ; 



But, Sir," said my honest companion, " whether 

 it be the brandy that has got into her head, or the 



