line, and thus rendered them firm
and commodious. A few lighter ones--evidently intended as the furniture
of the inner rooms--(there were but two in the house), had seats woven
out of the leaves of the palmetto.

There was very little attempt at ornament upon the walls--if we except
some curiosities that were placed there, all of which were evidently the
productions of the valley itself. There were stuffed birds of rare and
bright plumage, and huge horns of animals, with two or three shells of
the land tortoise carefully polished. There were no mirrors nor
pictures, and not a book to be seen, except _one_; that was a
medium-sized volume, placed on a small table by itself, and evidently
preserved with great care as it had been neatly and elaborately bound in
the skin of a young antelope. I had the curiosity to open this book,
shortly after entering. I read upon the title-page the words "Holy
Bible." This circumstance increased the interest I already felt in our
host and his family; and I sat down with feelings of confidence, for I
knew that even in this remote place we were enjoying the hospitality of
a Christian.

During the meal our host with his family were present. We had seen them
all on our arrival, for they had run forward to greet and welcome us;
but we became puzzled as we listened to the conversation of the
children. We heard with surprise that we were the first white men they
had seen for a period of nearly ten years! They were all beautiful
children--robust, and full of life and animation. There were two boys--
Frank and Harry,--so their mother called them--and two girls. Of the
girls one was of a very dark complexion--in fact, quite a brunette, and
with a Spanish expression of face. The other was as fair as her sister
was dark. The fair one was a beautiful little creature with flowing
yellow hair and deep blue eyes, with long, dark lashes. Her name was
Mary. That of the sister was Luisa. They were both very pretty, but
very unlike each other; and, what was odd to me, they appeared to be
about the same age and size. The boys were also of like size, though
both much older than their sisters. They appeared to be seventeen or
more, but I could not have guessed which was the elder. Harry, with his
fair curling hair, and red manly face, bore a strong resemblance to his
father; while the other was darker, and altogether more like the mother.
She herself did not appear to be much over thirty-fiv