118 



INCIDENTS OF TRAVEL. 



fore him, and had probably been taunted all his life 

 by merciless schoolboys. Forcing himself inside, 

 with his hands in his pockets, he said that he had 

 the money to pay for it, and would not be put off. 

 We were obliged to apologize, and, with a little wish 

 to bring him down, gave him some hope that he 

 should be attended to on our return to Merida. 



The news of these successes flew like wild-fire, and 

 a great sensation was created throughout the city. 

 All the evening Doctor Cabot was besieged with ap- 

 plications, and I could but think how fleeting is this 

 world's fame ! At first my arrival in the country 

 had been fairly trumpeted in the newspapers ; for 

 a little while Mr. Catherwood had thrown me in the 

 shade with the Daguerreotype, and now all our glo- 

 ries were swallowed up by Doctor Cabot's cure of 

 strabismus. Nevertheless, his fame was reflected 

 upon us. All the afternoon squint-eyed boys were 

 passing up and down the street, throwing slanting 

 glances in at the door, and toward evening, as Mr. 

 Catherwood and I were walking to the plaza, we 

 were hailed by some vagabond urchins with the ob- 

 streperous shout, " There go the men who cure the 

 biscos." 



