ad it skinned, and placed to broil on the burning coals.

"Well! what do you think of hurricanes?" asked Sumichrast of Lucien, who
was watching him cleaning his gun.

"They are most awful! I should never have thought that the wind, which
is invisible, could have blown down and broken up trees as big as that
one which almost fell upon us."

"Were you much frightened?"

"Rather; and so were you, for you were quite pale."

"The danger was much greater than you imagined. If the uprooted tree had
pitched on our rock, it would have upset it, and crushed us beneath."

"Then the wind must be much stronger in forests than in towns?"

"No; for the hurricane of yesterday probably destroyed entire villages.
It was one of those tropical storms which happily only break out at long
intervals. Many an Indian is at this moment rebuilding his destroyed
hut."

Lucien looked very thoughtful, and went and sat down at the foot of a
tree. When I passed near him, I saw he had tears in his eyes.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"I was thinking of mamma and my brothers. M. Sumichrast told me that the
tempest must have demolished whole villages; so perhaps our home has met
with some misfortune."

"Don't be frightened, my dear boy! Thank God! stone walls can generally
stand against wind. Besides, this hurricane can hardly have been felt at
Orizava. At all events, your mamma has more reason to be anxious about
_us_, for she knows that we are far from shelter--exposed to all its
violence."

I kissed poor Lucien, and comforted him as well as I could, assisted by
l'Encuerado, who soon afterwards took him off to look after our roast
rabbit.

The _tochtli_, or Mexican rabbit, is different from the European
species, although it has the same colored coat and instincts. In fact it
is a hare.

"Do you know the family of the animal we are going to have for
breakfast?" asked Sumichrast.

"Yes; it is a Rodent."

"Well done; but how did you recognize it to be so?"

"By the absence of canine teeth in its jaws, its large incisors, and its
hind legs being longer than its fore legs."

"Come, your memory is good. You should also know that, in Europe, the
rabbit, which is nearly allied to the hare, is thought to be a native of
Africa. Formerly, the Aztecs used to sacrifice hundreds of these animals
to the goddess Centeutl, who is the Ceres of Mexican mythology; and the
nobles used to wear cloaks made of the hair of the hare, mixed with
cotton.