76 
DOTTINGS ON THE ROADSIDE. [Chap. Y.-B. S. 
but bis wife told us that we must have been mis¬ 
informed on tbe subject,—sbe might bare added by 
ber husband himself,—and gave us pretty clearly 
to understand that we need not flatter ourselves that 
ber roof was a hospitable one, and, there being no 
inns in tbe place, we had better try our luck at 
Colonel Gross’s, who was himself a foreigner, though 
married to a Nicaraguan lady, and who might be dis¬ 
posed to, she was almost certain would, give us shelter. 
In what a false position a traveller constantly finds 
himself in a semi-civilized country without inns! 
How glad you would be to pay and order what you 
require, instead of waiting patiently till you get what 
your hosts are disposed to give you, and not have it in 
your power to make any return, for they will not let 
you, and, in many instances, feel hurt even if you 
make a present to the children or servants. Such, 
however, is invariably the case when you go into the 
houses of the upper classes in these countries ; amongst 
the lower you can pay and order without giving 
offence, and we always preferred taking up our quar¬ 
ters with them whenever the accommodation for our¬ 
selves and beasts was sufficiently large. 
Acting on Mrs. Benito Morales’ hint, we rode up to 
Colonel Gross’s house, and saw a young Swiss stand¬ 
ing in the veranda, whom I found to be a kinsman 
of Professor Nageli, the well-known physiologist. 
Colonel Manuel Gross, the Military Governor of Ma- 
tagalpa, a Hungarian by birth, was away from home, 
but his wife and sister-in-law kindly invited us to 
make their house our own during our stay, and they 
