out his dinner. The moral is that for the future the dinner to come up by land. We asked most of our visitors to-day what they could have given us if we had sent to them, and, except one piece of cold beef, they said there was nothing. The natives, you know, will not touch what has been on an European table; so that the remains of dinner are always thrown away, except where, as in our kitchen, there are Portuguese who eat it.
We came back last night.
We have some stables half-way, where there is a house given as a sort of retreat to some half-pay sergeant. Sergeant Taylor comes out to assist at the change of our horses; and he has a frightful little half-caste girl, who also goes pottering about telling the syces what to do. I took her a frock and a sash last night, and never saw anybody so pleased, or so ugly. The half-castes dress in such an odd way. I shall be curious to see the frock made up next time.
We had an immense dinner to-day, and such a dull one.
