and he now proposed that I should go with him to his house, situated
ten leagues from Cavite, near the mountains of Marigondon. The prospect
of some good sport soon decided me to accept this offer. Taking with
me my thirty-two dollars and double-barreled gun--in fact, my whole
fortune--I intrusted myself to this friend, whose acquaintance I had
just made. His little habitation was delightfully situated, in the
cool shadow of the palm and yang-yang--immense trees, whose flowers
spread around a delicious perfume. Two charming Indian girls were the
Eves of this paradise. My good friend kept the promises he had made
me on leaving the vessel; I was treated both by himself and family
with every attention and kindness.

Hunting was my principal amusement, and, above all, the chase of
the stag, which involves violent exercise. I was still ignorant of
wild-buffalo hunting, of which, however, I shall have to speak later
in my narrative; and I often requested my host to give me a taste of
this sport, but he always refused, saying it was too dangerous. For
three weeks I lived with the Indian family without receiving any news
from Manilla, when one morning, a letter came from the first mate--who,
on the death of the unfortunate Dibard, had taken the command of the
Cultivateur--telling me he was about to sail, and that I must go
on board at once if I wished to leave a country which had been so
fatal to all of us. This summons was already several days old, and
despite the reluctance I felt to quit the Indian's pleasant retreat,
it was necessary that I should prepare to start. I presented my
gun to my kind host, but had nothing to give his daughters, for to
have offered them money would have been an insult. The next day I
arrived at Manilla, still thinking of the cool shade of the palm and
the perfumed flowers of the yang-yang. My first impulse was to go to
the quay; but, alas! the Cultivateur had sailed, and I had the misery
of beholding her already far away in the horizon, moving sluggishly
before a gentle breeze towards the mouth of the bay. I asked some
Indian boatmen to take me to the ship; they replied that it might be
practicable if the wind did not freshen, but demanded twelve dollars
to make the attempt. I had but twenty-five remaining. I considered
for a few moments, should I not reach the vessel, what would become
of me in a remote colony, where I knew no one, and my stock of money
reduced to thirteen dollars, and with no a