It was by no means an uncommon
sight in those days when, as the gauchos were accustomed to say, a man
without a horse was a man without legs; but it was new to me when one
morning I saw a tall man on a tall horse ride up to our gate,
accompanied by a boy of nine or ten on a pony. I was struck with the
man's singular appearance, sitting upright and stiff in his saddle,
staring straight before him. He had long grey hair and beard, and wore
a tall straw hat shaped like an inverted flower-pot, with a narrow
brim--a form of hat which had lately gone out of fashion among the
natives but was still used by a few. Over his clothes he wore a red
cloak or poncho, and heavy iron spurs on his feet, which were cased in
the _botas de potro_, or long stockings made of a colt's untanned
hide.
Arrived at the gate he shouted _Ave Maria purissima_ in a loud voice,
then proceeded to give an account of himself, informing us that he was
a blind man and obliged to subsist on the charity of his neighbours.
They in their turn, he said, in providing him with all he required
were only doing good to themselves, seeing that those who showed the
greatest compassion towards their afflicted fellow-creatures were
regarded with special favour by the Powers above.
After delivering himself of all this and much more as if preaching a
sermon, he was assisted from his horse and led by the hand to the
front door, after which the boy drew back and folding his arms across
his breast stared haughtily at us children and the others who had
congregated at the spot.
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