12 



THE ANDES. 



that she did not consider her situation one of 

 great hardship. 



" Yet still e'en here content can spread a charnij 

 Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm.'* 



All comfort and happiness are comparative^ 

 and here ignorance was bliss.^^ 



In order to divide this day^s journey more 

 equally with the following one^ when we were 

 to enter the gorge of the mountains^ we 

 stopped for the night at a large farm-house^ 

 not above two or three miles further on. This 

 is situated on a high mound which overlooks 

 all the plain up to the foot of the Cordillera. 

 We encountered here a young Spanish mer- 

 chant^ from whose family we had received civi- 

 lity at Mendoza. He had followed us from 

 thence^ to overtake our party^ and travel under 

 our escort into Chile^ where he was obhged to 



