ks being obvious though couched in another tongue. Unable to
move the arms, and scarcely free to flicker the eyelashes, we were
borne compressedly and gradually on, until at last we were beyond the
main pleasure-ground; by this time even Mead had had enough of pleasures
which we had noticed others than Englishmen taking seriously. We took our
ease in our inn, and reflected.

The newspapers reported that the Carnival was declining year by year.
Perhaps the reporter, like ourselves, had corns and was caught in the
scrimmage.

XVII

I borrowed a Shakespeare from the second chaplain at the Mission to
escape from what seemed the dullness of our stay in South Basin, Buenos
Aires. Mead had taken over my own copy of the Tragedies, and by this time
had most of _Hamlet_ and _Macbeth_ by heart, so that our conversation
frequently ran by tags. Of Bicker we saw little. Highly favoured, he would
depart on most afternoons to the English suburb, where he had friends;
and it was impossible not to regard him, as he regarded himself, as a man
of superior rank, who had personal friends in this town. Once or twice in
the evenings, nevertheless, he came with us to our accustomed table in
that convenient but inglorious place the British Bar; and while there, he
did his best to annoy one of the waiters with the oft-repeated slur, "Yah,
Patagonio," or "You b---- Patagonian Indian," or "Patagonio no bonio."
The fellow bore it at first with grinning patience; but one evening
suddenly danced with fury, and rushing out summoned the greasy little
proprietor, who came in scowling and snarling, took stock of us--and went
out again. The alleged Patagonian was after this understood to be
meditating a fearful revenge.

At evening sometimes the autumn sun, going down, a golden ball, behind
the great buildings, and dimmed with a calm transition in the distance
of that time of day, removed my mind entirely from these and similar
matters. An incomplete state of recollection, the more delightful to me
from the strangeness of my temporary lodging, a presence felt but
understood, a trouble in the pool whose surface bore the evidence of
neither windwave's running V nor bubble subtly appearing, took hold
of me. Unable to remain aware of this confused echo long, without
endeavouring to resolve it into communicable notes, I would soon find
myself counting up memories as plainly as the fellow on the other side
of the water was tallying the brown hides di