THE PAMPAS* 



219 



I was reminded rather painfully of the immense 

 distance I had to travel before I could obtain a 

 much better couch than a broken door. On 

 each side of me some troopers were snoring 

 on the ground^ wrapped up in dirty white pon- 

 chos, their lances resting against the barrack- 

 wall; and I could not but amuse myself by 

 imagining the singular figure I should make, if the 

 whole scene could be transported over the water, 

 and placed before the eyes of some of my well- 

 lodged and luxurious friends in the old world. 



I slept ill} got up out of humour, and vented 

 my spleen upon an old woman, who very 

 reasonably refused me some milk from a cow 

 that was in the act of suckling three calves at 

 once. She yielded the point, however, at last, 

 so far as to give us a little for our coffee. The 

 postmaster was out of the way, and we had to 

 wait for horses until twelve o'clock. At last, 



