268 



araguato." This animal, having so extraordi- 

 nary a volume of voice, it's larynx must neces- 

 sarily impart to the water poured into it the vir- 

 tue of curing the affections of the lungs. Such 

 is the science of the vulgar, which sometimes 

 resembles that of the ancients. 



We passed the night at the village of Guigue, 

 the latitude of which I found by observations of 

 Canopus to be 10° 4' 11". The village, sur- 

 rounded with the richest cultivation, is only a 

 thousand toises distant from the lake of Taca- 

 rigua. We lodged with an old sergeant, a native 

 of Murcia, a man of a very original character. 

 To prove to us, that he had studied among the 

 Jesuits, he recited to us the history of the crea- 

 tion of the world in Latin. He knew the names 

 of Augustus, Tiberius, and Dioclesian; and while 

 enjoying the agreeable coolness of the night in 

 an enclosure planted with bananas, he interested 

 himself in all that had passed at the court of the 

 Roman emperors. He inquired of us with 

 earnestness for a remedy for the gout, from which 

 he suffered cruelly. " I know," said he, " that 

 a Zambo of Valencia, who is a famous curioso, 

 could cure me ; but the Zambo would expect to 

 be treated with attentions, that I cannot pay to 

 a man of his colour, and I prefer remaining as 

 I am." 



On leaving Guigue we began to ascend the 

 chain of mountains, that extends to the South 



