e was again left to take care of itself. Mary
and the two little ones rode in the cart, upon a soft seat made of
palmetto leaves and Spanish moss. Pompo, who appeared to partake of the
general happiness, whisked the vehicle along as if there had been nobody
in it, and he was only drawing it for his own amusement. Cudjo cracked
his great wagon-whip, and every now and then uttered a loud `wo-ha;'
while Castor and Pollux galloped gaily from side to side, running their
noses into every bush that grew near the path.

"We soon made our way through the valley, and climbed up to the plain.
We looked once more upon the Desert that stretched away on all sides;
but its dreary aspect no longer filled us with fear. We did not regard
it now, and the sight inspired us with feelings of curiosity and novelty
rather than of terror. Away to the southward the sun was glancing upon
the broad expanse of white sand; and several tall objects, like vast
dun-coloured towers, were moving over the plain. They were whirlwinds
carrying the dust upward to the blue sky, and spinning it from point to
point. Sometimes one glided away alone, until it was lost on the
distant horizon. Here two of them were moving in the same direction,
keeping a regular distance from each other, and seemingly running a
race. There several came together; and, after a short gusty contest,
the whole set would break up into shapeless masses of yellowish clouds,
and then float onward with the wind, and downward to the earth again.
It was an interesting sight to view those huge pillars towering up to
the heavens, and whirling like unearthly objects over the wide plain.
It was indeed an interesting sight, and we remained for many minutes
observing their motions.

"At length we turned our faces toward the mountain, and continued our
journey along the edge of the cliffs. The high peak glistened before
us, and the sun's rays falling upon it caused it to appear of a
beautiful colour--a mixture of gold and red, as though a shower of roses
had fallen upon the snow! We noticed that there was now more snow upon
the mountain than when we had first seen it, and that it came farther
down its sides. This attracted the attention of all of us; and Frank at
once called for an explanation, which his mother volunteered to give,
for she very well understood the phenomenon.

"`In the first place,' said she, `as you ascend upwards in the
atmosphere, it becomes thinner and colder. Beyo