Page:Narrative of an Official Visit to Guatemala.djvu/133

CH. VIII.] I had scarcely finished my rural toilette, when it was time to start. Don Simon was already mounted, with a fresh lighted cigar, and we set off together, on companionable terms; for I had, myself, acquired the habit of smoking, first in my own defence, and now for my amusement and satisfaction. This habit is considered salutary, and, in many parts of the country, especially in the low swampy situations, absolutely necessary for the preservation of health. The Dutch Government enforces the use of smoking amongst the soldiery, and the guardhouses are supplied, during the summer, with turf, for the purpose of lighting their pipes. I attribute much of the good health I enjoyed in my travels to conforming to the practice and usages of the places through which I passed; and I would advise every traveller, in South America, to do so as far as he is able.

The insect, called the cigarra, makes a chirping noise like the cricket, but which, when heard from the multiplied throats of