A YOUNG NATURALIST. 



167 



long coming out on to a plain, dotted here and there with 

 guava-trees. These trees furnished us with a quantity of 

 green fruit, of which we were all very fond. L'Encuerado 

 availed himself of this unexpected harvest by filling up all 

 the gaps in his basket with them. The wild guava, a sort 

 of myrtle, which grows naturally in the Terr e- Temp eree, 

 reaches to a height of several feet. Its fruit, which seldom 

 gets ripe before it is eaten by the birds or larvae, is luscious, 

 highly scented, and full of pips; they have the reputation of 

 being antifebrile and astringent. When the shrub is culti- 

 vated, its appearance changes considerably; its branches 

 grow longer, and are covered with leaves which are silvery 

 on the back, and the fruit they yield are as large as lemons, 

 which they resemble in shape and color. 



We all put on our travelling gear again ; but when l'En- 

 cuerado wanted to place the basket on his back, he found 

 he could not possibly lift it up. I helped him, trying all 

 the time to persuade him to throw away half his stock ; 

 but he resolutely refused to follow my advice. When he 

 began to walk, he staggered like a drunken man, and at last 

 fell down beneath his burden, and all the guavas rolled out 

 on to the ground. 



Our laughter rather hurt the brave Indian's feelings. 



" By Jose-Maria !" he cried, holding up his hands towards 

 heaven, "I am getting old. Oh, what a disgrace, not to be 

 able to carry a handful of guavas ! In my youth it would 

 have taken three such loads as those to have made me fall 

 down on my knees like a broken-down horse. Poor old fel- 

 low !" 



L'Encuerado was certainly exaggerating his former 

 strength ; but, at any rate, it cut him to the heart to have to 

 throw away so much of the fruit he had gathered, and our 

 insisting upon his doing so quite crowned his vexation. 

 With a view of consoling him, I reminded him that the 



