that your eyes deceived you. It is just
the same now: these trees appear to be farther apart in proportion as we
approach them; and you will be quite surprised presently when you see
how distant they are from each other. The same illusion is produced by
the stars, which are millions of miles apart, and yet appear so thick in
the sky, that your brother Emile was regretting, the other night, that
he was not tall enough to grasp a handful of them."

"And don't forget," added Sumichrast, "that light and imagination often
combine to deceive us."

"Just as in the fable of the 'Camels and the floating sticks.'"

"Bravo! my young scholar; you've heard that fable?"

"Yes. One evening I was going into a dimly-lighted room, and I fancied I
saw a great gray man seated in a chair; I cried out, and ran away,
afraid. Then papa took me by the hand and led me into the dark room
again, and I found that the giant which had frightened me so much was
nothing but a pair of trowsers, thrown over the back of an arm-chair.
The next day mamma made me learn the fable of the 'Camels.'"

[Illustration: "At last, lagging a little, our party reached the foot of
the mountains."]

On our road I called Lucien's attention to a small thorny shrub, a kind
of mimosa, called _huizachi_ by the Indians, who use its pods for dyeing
black cloth, and for making a tolerably useful ink. The plain assumed by
degrees a less monotonous aspect. Butterflies began to hover round us,
and our young naturalist wanted to commence insect-hunting. I
restrained his ardor, as I wished to keep our boxes and needles free for
the rarer species which we might expect to find as soon as we had
reached more uninhabited districts. At last, lagging a little, our party
reached the foot of the mountains.

It was now five o'clock; night was coming on, so it was highly necessary
to look out for shelter. We came in view of a bamboo-hut in the nick of
time. An old Indian was reclining in front of it, warming his meagre
limbs in the rays of the setting sun, clad in nothing but a pair of
drawers and a hat with a torn brim. He rose as we came near, and
proffered us hospitality. His wife, whose costume consisted of a cotton
shirt edged with red thread, came running in answer to his call, and was
quite in raptures at the prettiness of the "little white traveller," who
completely ingratiated himself by saluting her in her own language. We
had accomplished a journey of seven leagues, although