[75] =y cómo ha de dejar de serlo=, _and how can it help being so_. =Lo= refers to the previous statement, =es poeta=. [76] =mientras se cruzan dos palabras=, _in the twinkling of an eye_. [77] =atraerse=. The reflexive is here the indirect object of the verb. [78] =Masas de tinieblas..., masas de luz lívida=, in loose apposition with colores of the preceding sentence. [79] =y muestra... poder=, _and shows the limitless stretches of the pampa as they are vividly pierced by the lightning, the symbol of power_. [80] =Añádase=, _Let it be added_. [81] =una atmósfera cargada de electricidad=. "On a second night we witnessed a splendid scene of natural fireworks; the masthead and yard arm ends shone with St. Elmo's light; and the form of the vane could almost be traced, as if it had been rubbed with phosphorus. The sea was so highly luminous that the tracks of the penguins were marked by a fiery wake, and the darkness of the sky was momentarily illuminated by the most vivid lightning."--DARWIN, _The Voyage of the Beagle_, describing the entrance to the estuary of the Plata. [82] =como el pelo contrariado del gato=, _like a cat's hair when stroked the wrong way_. [83] =la vista=, subject of the verbs =gira=, =reconcentra=, =encuentra=, in the preceding lines. [84] =Paraná= and =Uruguay= (next line). Two rivers. V. map. [85] =arrojan=. Strictly speaking, the subject is =ceibos y palmas=, though the meaning is clearly that _all_ the trees overhanging the banks, _i.e._, the aromo and the orange tree, shower their flowers. [86] =flor del aire=, _flower of the air_; popular name for a plant of the genus Tillandsia, very common in Argentina. There are many varieties, with flowers of different colors. The striking characteristic of this plant is that it will grow without having its roots in the ground, getting its sustenance from the air when tied to or suspended from anything. [87] =Guazú=, one of the rivers of the Paraná delta. [88] =es un canto frigio=. The well-known archeologist, Sir William Mitchell Ramsay, in his article on Phrygia in the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ says: "The scenery is generally monotonous; even the mountainous districts rarely show striking features or boldness of character; where the landscape has beauty it is of a subdued melancholy character. The circumstances of the country are well calculated to impress the inhabitants with a sense of the overwhelming power of nature and of their complete dependence on it. Their mythology, so far as we know it, has a melancholy and mystic tone, and their religion partakes of the same character." [89] =Rousseau= (Jean Jacques), the celebrated French philosopher of the eighteenth century (1712-1778), in his youth wrote a _Dissertation on Modern Music_, in which he attempted to introduce a new system of musical notation. [90] =Copiapó=, city in Chile. V. map. [91] =no lo han de haber adoptado=, _cannot have adopted it_.