smile, and said, "Well! I'll win it all back with a yard or two of cambric. Mr. Ross, will you go halves in my luck? Two throws of the dice; that won't greatly delay us." and was heard, a few minutes later, humming an air from the opera of the evening, as he passed down the Tolédo on his way to his hotel. Kenneth had departed with him: Yes; Kenneth would go halves in the having drunk almost too deeply to stand stake. What was it to be? or walk, and with a dim sense, even then, of shame and annoyance, increased, as we have seen, to more intense irritation by the scene which awaited him in his apartments. Shrouded now in luxurious curtains, his head feeling as though blistered with fire, and with just enough sense remaining for sullen consciousness of pain, cursing his folly, his valet, and the remedies by which the latter proposed to put him in a condition to re-appear creditably in the course of the afternoon, -Kenneth remained for blank hours "resting" in his disordered apartment; while Sir Douglas, once more stepping out into the morning light, directed his steps to the quarter of Sta. Lucia, and tʊ the verandas of the Villa Mandórlo. "There," thought he, as he looked & the pleasant sunshine falling on the white walls, "there, at least, dwells such an image of peace, purity, and quiet affection, as might mend any man's broken trust in the goodness of human nature." To be continued. CHILE-WITH A FEW NOTES BY THE WAY. BY A TWELVE YEARS' RESIDENT. WHEN good Baillie A began to ship Glasgow wares to Australia early in the present century, his adventurous spirit made him the object of some goodnatured banter from his less speculative neighbours. "Dinna ye ken, man," said they, "there's naebody but kangaroos in Australia?" 66 'Weel, weel, and isna a kangaroo's siller as gude as anither man's?" was the rejoinder of the sanguine trader. Chile, we fear, is now as much a terra incognita as Australia was ago. Let not gentle readers wax indignant at the insinuation. Is it not a fact that they believe Chile to be chiefly celebrated for "Chile peppers," and that the capsicum of botanists is the staple export from that flourishing little republic? Never was there greater delusion. Notwithstanding the very positive assertions of modern geographers in support of the popular error, the capsicum does not grow in Chile at all, but is a product of the torrid zone. when Southern Europe is "used.up" to so many travellers, it is surprising that some of them do not try the west coast of South America. The best route is by the West India mail, and viá Panama. On the way travellers visit St. Thomas, and Kingston (Jamaica) or Havannah. Thence they proceed to Colon, crossing the Isthmus of Panama by railway, and joining the West Coast line of steamers at Taboga, a small island in the beautiful Bay of Panama. The three hours of railway travelling across the forty-five miles which separate the Carribean Sea from the Pacific Ocean, will, of themselves, fully repay the traveller for all inconveniences incident to a journey through the tropics. The gorgeous magnificence of the mass of tangled forestflowers and creepers, through which the railway is cut, is indescribable. The variety and luxuriance of the foliage are wonderful. Flowers of exquisite beauty line the road; and, before the journey is over, one longs for a mountain-top, or placid lake, or grassy plain on which to rest the colour-satiated eye. At the end of the journey one feels as if emerging from a vast steaming conservatory, from which he is glad to escape into the cool outer air-yet ever after finding the vivid impression of such rare and exotic beauty, indelibly painted on the tablets of the memory. Unfortunately, on reaching Panama, the cool outer air is 'not to be found; nor can it be enjoyed for a few days longer,-not until, on board of one of the Pacific Company's superb and most comfortable steamers, we are carried several hundred miles away southwards. At Panama the heat can only be mitigated by temporary applications in the form of oysters, or the deliciously iced "claret cobblers," made with surprising skill and dexterity by mine host of the Aspinwall House. To West Coast travellers the memory of these "drinks" is fragrant. Even now I recollect the ecstacy of a young lady-passenger whose thirst I endeavoured to assuage in the way described. During the process of imbibition, daintily performed as it was, to me confidentially, "This is the happiest moment of my life!" Leaving Panama, with its sweltering heat and its memorable refrigerents, and omitting all that might be said about the remains of Spanish power and opulence in the ruinous churches, crumbling walls, and public buildings of that ancient city, we arrive, after eight days, at Callao, the seaport of Lima, the Peruvian capital. On the way the traveller will have touched at Payta, and probably also at Guayaquil. Payta is now rising into note as the principal shipping-port for Peruvian cotton, the production of which has largely increased since the breaking out of the American war. Guayaquil is noted as the port from which is exported the cocoa of Ecuador, from which the finest chocolate is made. It goes chiefly to Spain, where the article is more largely consumed than in any other European country. The scenery on the river of Guayaquil is very beautiful; but musquitos are there most abundant and vicious: they are said to bite through coverlet, sheets, and night-dress; and doubtless, were it possible to use blankets, their delicate yet searching probosces would penetrate through these as well, especially if underneath there were any hope of arriving at fullblooded, untanned Englishmen. Lima is connected with Callao, from which it is distant about seven miles, by a railway, which, although very badly managed, yet leaves about 16 or 18 per cent. of annual profit. The traveller who wishes to proceed to Chile in the steamer which brought him from Panama has two clear days to spend in Lima-a very great advantage to him. During that time he will be able to see the principal objects of interest in the City of the Viceroys-its famous churches, its exquisite Alameda (or public promenade), and its bull-ring. Perhaps, also, he may have time to see the neighbouring watering-place of Chorillos, also connected by railway with Lima. If the bearer of any letters of introduction, he may have the opportunity of meeting some of the beautiful smile, and said, "Well! I'll win it all back with a yard or two of cambric. Mr. Ross, will you go halves in my luck? Two throws of the dice; that won't greatly delay us." Yes; Kenneth would go halves in the stake. What was it to be? The young Marquis rapidly divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, drew over his head one of those wonderfully embroidered Parisian shirts, which he coolly informed the company had cost him seven hundred francs; observed with a scoffing laugh, as he took his stand by the gaming-table, that his present costume closely resembled that of an English gentleman about to engage in a boxing-match (a sport in which foreigners believe we continually indulge), and then threw the dice. In a few minutes his adversaries, who had thought the scene infinitely diverting, looked rather grave: they had had their throws, and lost. He had won back the greater portion of the sums they had hoped to divide amongst them. He lifted the embroidered dandy garment from the table, tossed it over his arm, made a salute full of gay irony to the company, retired to re-invest himself with the usual amount of clothing, 1 This anecdote is a fact. and was heard, a few minutes later, humming an air from the opera of the evening, as he passed down the Tolédo on his way to his hotel. Kenneth had departed with him: having drunk almost too deeply to stan! or walk, and with a dim sense, even then, of shame and annoyance, increased, as we have seen, to more intense irritation by the scene which awaited him in his apartments. Shrouded now in luxurious curtains, his head feeling as though blistered with fire, and with just enough sense remaining for sullen consciousness of pain, cursing his folly, his valet, and the remedies by which the latter proposel to put him in a condition to re-appear creditably in the course of the afternoon, -Kenneth remained for blank hours "resting" in his disordered apartment; while Sir Douglas, once more stepping out into the morning light, directed his steps to the quarter of Sta. Lucia, and t the verandas of the Villa Mandorlo. "There," thought he, as he looked & the pleasant sunshine falling on the white walls, "there, at least, dwells such an image of peace, purity, and quiet affection, as might mend any man's broken trust in the goodness of human nature." To be continued. CHILE-WITH A FEW NOTES BY THE WAY. BY A TWELVE YEARS' RESIDENT. WHEN good Baillie A began to ship Glasgow wares to Australia early in the present century, his adventurous spirit made him the object of some goodnatured banter from his less speculative neighbours. "Dinna ye ken, man," said they, "there's naebody but kangaroos in Australia?" "Weel, weel, and isna a kangaroo's siller as gude as anither man's?" was the rejoinder of the sanguine trader. Chile, we fear, is now as much a terra incognita as Australia was ago. Let not gentle readers wax indinant at the insinuation. Is it not a fact that they believe Chile to be chiefly celebrated for "Chile peppers," and that the capsicum of botanists is the staple export from that flourishing little republic? Never was there greater delusion. Notwithstanding the very positive assertions of modern geographers in support of the popular error, the capsicum does not grow in Chile at all, but is a product of the torrid zone. when Southern Europe is "used.up" to so many travellers, it is surprising that some of them do not try the west coast of South America. The best route is by the West India mail, and via Panama. On the way travellers visit St. Thomas, and Kingston (Jamaica) or Havannah. Thence they proceed to Colon, crossing the Isthmus of Panama by railway, and joining the West Coast line of steamers at Taboga, a small island in the beautiful Bay of Panama. The three hours of railway travelling across the forty-five miles which separate the Carribean Sea from the Pacific Ocean, will, of themselves, fully repay the traveller for all inconveniences incident to a journey through the tropics. The gorgeous magnificence of the mass of tangled forestflowers and creepers, through which the railway is cut, is indescribable. The variety and luxuriance of the foliage are wonderful. Flowers of exquisite beauty line the road; and, before the journey is over, one longs for a mountain-top, or placid lake, or grassy plain on which to rest the colour-satiated eye. At the end of the journey one feels as if emerging from a vast steaming conservatory, from which he is glad to escape into the cool outer air-yet ever after finding the vivid impression of such rare and exotic beauty, indelibly painted on the tablets of the memory. Unfortunately, on reaching Panama, the cool outer air is 'not to be found; nor can it be enjoyed for a few days longer,--not until, on bound of one of the Pacific Company's superb and most comfortable steamers, we are carried several hundred miles away southwards. At Panama the heat can only be mitigated by temporary applications in the form of oysters, or the deliciously iced "claret cobblers," made with surprising skill and dexterity by mine host of the Aspinwall House. To West Coast travellers the memory of these "drinks" is fragrant. Even now I recollect the ecstacy of a young lady-passenger whose thirst I endeavoured to assuage in the way described. During the process of imbibition, daintily performed as it was, to me confidentially, "This is the happiest moment of my life!" Leaving Panama, with its sweltering heat and its memorable refrigerents, and omitting all that might be said about the remains of Spanish power and opulence in the ruinous churches, crumbling walls, and public buildings of that ancient city, we arrive, after eight days, at Callao, the seaport of Lima, the Peruvian capital. On the way the traveller will have touched at Payta, and probably also at Guayaquil. Payta is now rising into note as the principal shipping-port for Peruvian cotton, the production of which has largely increased since the breaking out of the American war. Guayaquil is noted as the port from which is exported the cocoa of Ecuador, from which the finest chocolate is made. It goes chiefly to Spain, where the article is more largely consumed than in any other European country. The scenery on the river of Guayaquil is very beautiful; but musquitos are there most abundant and vicious: they are said to bite through coverlet, sheets, and night-dress; and doubtless, were it possible to use blankets, their delicate yet searching probosces would penetrate through these as well, especially if underneath there were any hope of arriving at fullblooded, untanned Englishmen. Lima is connected with Callao, from which it is distant about seven miles, by a railway, which, although very badly managed, yet leaves about 16 or 18 per cent. of annual profit. The traveller who wishes to proceed to Chile in the steamer which brought him from Panama has two clear days to spend in Lima-a very great advantage to him. During that time he will be able to see the principal objects of interest in the City of the Viceroys-its famous churches, its exquisite Alameda (or public promenade), and its bull-ring. Perhaps, also, he may have time to see the neighbouring watering-place of Chorillos, also connected by railway with Lima. If the bearer of any letters of introduction, he may have the opportunity of meeting some of the beautiful smile, and said, "Well! I'll win it all back with a yard or two of cambric. Mr. Ross, will you go halves in my luck? Two throws of the dice; that won't greatly delay us." Yes; Kenneth would go halves in the stake. What was it to be? The young Marquis rapidly divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, drew over his head one of those wonderfully embroidered Parisian shirts, which he coolly informed the company had cost him seven hundred francs; observed with a scoffing laugh, as he took his stand by the gaming-table, that his present costume closely resembled that of an English gentleman about to engage in a boxing-match (a sport in which foreigners believe we continually indulge), and then threw the dice. In a few minutes his adversaries, who had thought the scene infinitely diverting, looked rather grave: they had had their throws, and lost. He had won back the greater portion of the sums they had hoped to divide amongst them. He lifted the embroidered dandy garment from the table, tossed it over his arm, made a salute full of gay irony to the company, retired to re-invest himself with the usual amount of clothing, 1 This anecdote is a fact. and was heard, a few minutes later. humming an air from the opera of the evening, as he passed down the Toléd on his way to his hotel. Kenneth had departed with him: having drunk almost too deeply to stan or walk, and with a dim sense, even then, of shame and annoyance, increased, as we have seen, to more intense irritation by the scene which awaited him in his apartments. Shrouded now in luxurious curtains. his head feeling as though blistered with fire, and with just enough sense remaining for sullen consciousness of pain, cursing his folly, his valet, and the remedies by which the latter proposel to put him in a condition to re-appear creditably in the course of the afternoon. -Kenneth remained for blank hours "resting" in his disordered apartment: while Sir Douglas, once more steppi out into the morning light, directed his steps to the quarter of Sta. Lucia, and to the verandas of the Villa Mandórlo. CHILE-WITH A FEW NOTES BY THE WAY. BY A TWELVE YEARS' RESIDENT. WHEN good Baillie A began to ship Glasgow wares to Australia early in the present century, his adventurous spirit made him the object of some goodnatured banter from his less speculative neighbours. "Dinna ye ken, man," said they, "there's naebody but kangaroos in Australia?" "Weel, weel, and isna a kangaroo's siller as gude as anither man's?" was the rejoinder of the sanguine trader. Chile, we fear, is now as much a terra incognita as Australia was ago. Let not gentle readers wax indig nant at the insinuation. Is it not a fact that they believe Chile to be chiefly celebrated for "Chile peppers," and that the capsicum of botanists is the staple export from that flourishing little republic? Never was there greater delusion. Notwithstanding the very positive assertions of modern geographers in support of the popular error, the capsicum does not grow in Chile at all, but is a product of the torrid zone. |