thinking that it was destined to be prematurely consumed. A
large jarful was produced; Runi politely quaffed the first cup; I
followed; then the others; and the women drank also, a woman
taking about one cupful to a man's three. Runi and I, however,
drank the most, for we had our positions as the two principal
personages there to maintain. Tongues were loosened now; for the
alcohol, small as the quantity contained in this mild liquor is,
had begun to tell on our brains. I had not their pottle-shaped
stomach, made to hold unlimited quantities of meat and drink; but
I was determined on this most important occasion not to deserve
my host's contempt--to be compared, perhaps, to the small bird
that delicately picks up six drops of water in its bill and is
satisfied. I would measure my strength against his, and if
necessary drink myself into a state of insensibility.

At last I was scarcely able to stand on my legs. But even the
seasoned old savage was affected by this time. In vino veritas,
said the ancients; and the principle holds good where there is no
vinum, but only mild casserie. Runi now informed me that he had
once known a white man, that he was a bad man, which had caused
him to say that all white men were bad; even as David, still more
sweepingly, had proclaimed that all men were liars. Now he found
that it was not so, that I was a good man. His friendliness
increased with intoxication. He presented me with a curious
little tinder-box, made from the conical tail of an armadillo,
hollowed out, and provided with a wooden stopper--this to be used
in place of the box I had deprived myself of. He also furnished
me with a grass hammock, and had it hung up there and then, so
that I could lie down when inclined. There was nothing he would
not do for me. And at last, when many more cups had been