LUXAN. 



257 



CHAPTER XV. 



LUXAN. 



Preparations for leaving Mendoza — Provisions for the 

 journey — Curiosity — Departure — Halt for the night — • 

 Learned ladies — Ercilla's poetry, and the aborigines of 

 the Pampas — Retrospective glance at the plains and 

 their inhabitants — Sketch of the Patagonians. 



Luxan, Feb. 17. — The servant and guide 

 having arrived in the morning, we discharged the 

 latter— not without reluctance, for an honester 

 creature never breathed — and soon after sunset 

 we took leave of our kind hostess, and mounted 



