abyss, and we saw no more of it. As for the
muleteer, it was well for him that his mule had got
its fore legs firmly planted on the path beyond the
ledge, and that the spurs, which in his fright he
drove up to the rowels into the mule's side,
were sharp, for it was only by a desperate effort
that the poor beast saved itself from falling back.
The fellow, though used to rough work, so lost
his nerve at the narrowness of his escape, that
he got off, and leaned against the rock for a
minute or two, with a face which terror had
blanched to a whity-brown.

"Do you know," said C., "that at this very
place, which before last night's rain was three
times as broad as it is now, a rather disagreeable
accident once occurred. It was about eight years
ago. We had made up a party to take advantage
of the full moon and ride down to La Guaira at
night. A Frenchman, partner in one of the houses
at La Guaira, whom you may have seen there, had
been persuaded to join us. He was exceedingly
nervous, and rather short-sighted, and we quizzed
him unmercifully as we rode along in high
spirits, and with rather more champagne on
board than was desirable on such an occasion.
When we arrived at this place, which was even
then the worst bit on the road, a cloud came over
the moon, and some one called out in joke to the
Frenchman, who was riding a white horse, to go
first, as he would be better seen by any one coming
the other way, and so a rencontre would be avoided
where the path was too narrow for two riders to
pass. He unfortunately took the request in
earnest, and made an attempt to get first.
There being a bush beside the precipice, his horse
mistook it for terra finna, stepped on it, and
went down like a shot. The poor Frenchman
uttered a cry of horror, which was succeeded by
a loud crashing among branches and a rattle of
falling stones, and, after a moment's pause, by a
tremendous thud, as the horse struck the rocks
many feet down, and bounded off into the abyss.
We stood aghast at the loss of our poor friend,
but, as it was impossible even to see down the
precipice, we had no alternative but to go on to
La Guaira, leaving two of our number to watch
at the spot where he had fallen. I was one
of those who went on, and as soon as I reached
the town I got together ten or a dozen men, and
having procured some long ropes, set off, just as
the dawn was breaking, to the precipice, intending
to lower some one down to see whether there
was any chance of recovering the body. What
was my astonishment, on nearing the place, to
hear the sound of laughter and loud talking!
This levity seemed so ill timed, that I intended
to remonstrate with my friends who had been
left to watch. My anger, however, was soon
turned into joy, for I found the laughers
bending over the precipice, and addressing
jokes to the bushy head of a stumpy tree which
grew from the side of the mountain, some fifteen
feet below the path, and in which the Frenchman
had providentially alighted, while his horse had
been dashed to pieces. Of course we soon pulled
our friend up. We found he was unhurt, except
by a few scratches, though fear had at first so
paralysed him, that for a good quarter of an hour
after his fall he had been unable to utter one word.
Even now, at this length of time, he has not
completely recovered his nerve, and will not
cross the mountain, even by the coach road, on
horseback."

This story took so long to tell, that we had
reached the grass-grown walls of the fort of San
Carlos, just above the Quebrada, which runs into
La Guaira, before it was done. The sun was
now terrifically hot, and we pushed on with all
speed to C.'s house, which we reached at
half-past nine A.M., having been about three hours in
coming the whole way. My only business at La
Guaira was to inspect the custom-house, of
which I might now be said to be joint proprietor
with the government, as my servants had assumed
the collection of the export duties. On going
over the building, I found the lower story divided
into six long stores—which together might
contain about two thousand five hundred tons of
merchandise—and one square store, capable of
holding as much as the other six. Perhaps five
thousand tons in all could be warehoused at one
time in the building, but it being the dull season,
there were not above six hundred tons at the time
of my visit. The timber of the custom-house is
almost black, and as hard as iron, and of a kind
that no insect can make any impression on. Of
the three stories, the lower, as has been said,
consists of warehouses. In the second, sit the
accountants, whose books I examined carefully.
At five P.M. I had embarked with C. on board a
brig of two hundred tons, and was soon sailing
with a light breeze from La Guaira to Puerto
Cabello. At night, the wind fell, and I who was
below, among colonies of industrious ants, fleas,
and cock-roaches, all doing their best to carry
me away piecemeal, passed the dark hours in
wondering whether I should melt away before I
was eaten up, or should be eaten up before I
could melt away.

In the morning, we found ourselves sweltering
in a dead calm, abreast of the mountains of
Ocumare, and about twenty-six miles from Puerto
Cabello. The heat went on increasing until noon,
when it became so intolerable, that we could
do nothing but lie down panting in our shirts,
and dab our heads and hands with wet towels.
The sea was like glass; I looked in vain for
even a cat's-paw anywhere on its surface. Not
a bird or a fish was to be seen, except one dolphin:
a beautiful creature of a golden green, with silver
fins and tail, which kept darting about under our
bows, as if in mockery of our inability to move.
The mate, a huge surly swarthy fellow, whose
natural ill humour was increased by the heat,
swore at the fish, and tried to kill it with the
grains, but only struck off a few glittering scales,
after which it sank out of harm's way. At
half-past four, in spite of the sun, I went up the
rigging to spy for a breeze, thinking I should
hardly live over the heat of such another