re. The house stands as it was left. I even saw near the
well the spades and pickaxes with which they had been working at the
time of the attack. Thus modern Athens was cut off in the bud, which was
a great pity, as a few Athenian sages and legislators are sadly
wanted in Texas.

Early one morning we were awakened by loud roars in the prairie. Castro
started on his feet, and soon gave the welcome news, "The Buffaloes." On
the plain were hundreds of dark moving spots, which increased in size as
we came nearer; and before long we could clearly see the shaggy brutes
galloping across the prairie, and extending their dark, compact
phalanxes even to the line of the horizon. Then followed a scene of
excitement The buffaloes, scared by the continual reports of our rifles,
broke their ranks and scattered themselves in every direction.

The two foreigners were both British, the youngest being a young
Irishman of a good family, and of the name of Fitzgerald. We had been
quite captivated by his constant good humour and vivacity of spirits; he
was the life of our little evening encampments, and, as he had travelled
on the other side of the Pacific, we would remain till late at night
listening to his interesting and beautiful narratives of his adventures
in Asiatic countries.

He had at first joined the English legion in Spain, in which he had
advanced to the rank of captain; he soon got tired of that service and
went to Persia, where he entered into the Shah's employ as an officer of
artillery. This after some time not suiting his fancy, he returned to
England, and decided upon visiting Texas, and establishing himself as a
merchant at San Antonio. But his taste for a wandering life would not
allow him to remain quiet for any length of time, and having one day
fallen in with an English naturalist, who had come out on purpose to
visit the north-west prairies of Texas, he resolved to accompany him.

Always ready for any adventure, Fitz. rushed madly among the buffaloes.
He was mounted upon a wild horse of the small breed, loaded with
saddlebags, water calabashes, tin and coffee-cups, blankets, &c.; but
these encumbrances did not stop him in the least. With his bridle
fastened to the pommel of his saddle and a pistol in each hand, he shot
to the right and left, stopping now and then to reload and then starting
anew. During the hunt he lost his hat, his saddlebags, with linen and
money, and his blankets: as he never took the trouble t