We had to do the best we could without
them, therefore, and I really do not think any one knew of the dilemma
we had been in, until they were told, at the end of the day. The
servants all turned to and worked with a will; but it was rather a
different matter from having a large luncheon party on board in the
Thames, with our London servants and supplies to fall back upon.
For our own part, I think we all felt that the comparative scarcity of
meat this morning was an agreeable change, after our recent
experiences. Animal food is so cheap and so good in this country that
at every meal four or five dishes of beef or mutton, dressed in
various ways, are provided. In the camp--as all the country round
Buenos Ayres is called--people eat nothing but meat, either fresh or
dried, and hardly any flour with it. Especially in the more distant
estancias, beef and mutton, poultry and eggs, form the staple food of
the inhabitants. Very little bread is eaten, and no vegetables, and an
attempt is rarely made to cultivate a garden of any sort. This year,
too, the ravages of the locusts have made vegetable food scarcer than
ever, and it must now be looked upon quite as a luxury by very many
people; for there can be little doubt that to live entirely on meat,
even of the best quality, though probably strengthening, must be
exceedingly monotonous.
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