nerally extremely ugly.

In the course of the morning after the fight Mr. Cooper rode over from
Canterbury, and was greatly surprised to hear of the attack. The Indians
had not been seen or heard of at his estate, and he was ignorant of
anything having taken place until his arrival.

For the next few days there was quite a levee of visitors, who came over
to hear the particulars, and to offer their congratulations. All the
outlying settlers were particularly pleased, as it was considered
certain that the Indians would not visit that neighbourhood again for
some time.

Shortly afterwards the government sales for the land beyond Mount
Pleasant took place. Mr. Hardy went over to Rosario to attend them, and
bought the plot of four square leagues immediately adjoining his own,
giving the same price that he had paid for Mount Pleasant. The
properties on each side of this were purchased by the two Edwards, and
by an Englishman who had lately arrived in the colony. His name was
Mercer: he was accompanied by his wife and two young children, and his
wife's brother, whose name was Parkinson. Mr. Hardy had made their
acquaintance at Rosario, and pronounced them to be a very pleasant
family. They had brought out a considerable capital, and were coming in
a week with a strong force to erect their house. Mr. Hardy had promised
them every assistance, and had invited Mrs. Mercer to take up her abode
at Mount Pleasant with her children, until the frame-house which they
had brought out could be erected,--an invitation which had been gladly
accepted.

There was great pleasure at the thought of another lady in the
neighbourhood; and Mrs. Hardy was especially pleased for the girls'
sake, as she thought that a little female society would be of very great
advantage to them.

The plots of land next to the Mercers and Edwards were bought, the one
by three or four Germans working as a company together, the other by Don
Martinez, an enterprising young Spaniard; so that the Hardys began to be
in quite an inhabited country. It is true that most of the houses would
be six miles off; but that is close, on the Pampas. There was a talk,
too, of the native overseer of the land between Canterbury and the
Jamiesons selling his ground in plots of a mile square. This would make
the country comparatively thickly populated. Indeed, with the exception
of Mr. Mercer, who had taken up a four-league plot, the other new
settlers had in no case purchased more