Over the Sea and far away, being a Narrative of wanderings round the world ... With ... illustrations, etc

Front matter

WANDERINGS ROUND THE WORLD LONDON : PRINTED RY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., K EW- STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET Bridal Veil Fall, TosemitÆ Front inpiece . OVEE THE SEA AND EAR AWAY BEIXli A NARRATIVE 0 . WANDERINGS ROUND THE WORLD BY THOMAS WOODBINE HINCHLIFF, M.A., F.R.G.S. PRESIDENT OF THE ALPINE CLUB AUTHOR OF < SUMMEU MONTHS AMONG THE AI_PS' ' SODTH AMERICAN SKETCHES' ETC. 'PER DIES FESTOS IN REMOTO G R A M I N E ' -Horace WITH FOURTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS ESQ RAVED ON WOOD BY ff. PEARSON FROM. PHOTOGRAPHS AXD SKETCHES LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, A*ND CO. 1876 All rights reserved TO WILLIAM HENRY RAWSON, ESQ. THE FOUNDER OP THE FEAST' THIS RECORD OF PLEASANT AND SUCCESSFUL WANDERINGS ROUND THE AA7ORLD IN COMPANY WITH HIS SON _ s fl c i. .cat cb AA'ITH THE VERY KIND REGARDS OF THEIR SINCERE FRIEND THE AUTHOR

Preface

. In the Autumn of 1873 I had a very AA-elcome opportunity of starting upon a journey round the »vorld in company AA7ith Mr. W. H. Raavson ; and we took so erratic a course that, though the world is generally supposed to be only about 24,000 miles in circumference, Ave succeeded in traversing nearly 36,000 miles of ocean, in addition to spending about six months in sojourns and expeditions amon"' the terrestrial regions ofthe earth. Taa'o principal reasons haA7e induced me to .renture upon publishing an account of our traATels. Former visits had made me familiar with the forest-depths of the country about the beautiful Organ Mountains of Brazil, Avith the palm-croAvned rolling hills of the Banda Oriental, and Avith all the delights of shooting and galloping o\7er the boundless Pampas of the Argentine Republic. I had, howeArer, never before seen the Avonders of the Straits of Magellan, with glaciers falling into the sea; I had neither

PREFACE.

. seen nor imagined the stupendous peaks of the Andes looking down upon the plains of Chile and Peru; nor had I any sufficient idea of the Avonders and curiosities of the Avhole Pacific coast, its multitudinous fish and birds, its arid hills and earthquake-smitten cities. After having seen all these things, and been enabled to compare the Pacific Avith the Atlantic side of a neglected continent, I felt irresistibly tempted to say something concerning it, Avith the vieAv of, if possible, persuading others to see Avhat I myself intensely enjoyed, and to avoid folloAving the example of the great majority of modern travellers, Avho, for some unknown reasons, appear almost unani mously to exclude South America from their programme. My other reason is, that there appeared to me to be abundant room for a further and more detailed account of the natural aspect of many of the countries Avhich we Avere fortunate enough to visit, especially with regard to their scenery, their flowers, ferns, ancl forests.

The taste for these matters is, I hope and believe, advancing rapidly; and, though I have refrained from giving long and per haps wearisome catalogues of plants, yet I haA7e endea voured from time to time to call attention to some of the most remarkable of those which give a distinct tone and individuality to the countries in AA'hich they are found. Moreover, having convinced myself in these and in many other Avanderings of every variety, from the tops of lofty

PREFACE.

. IX mountains to the recesses of the Tropical forest, that even a slight knowledge of plants doubles the pleasure of travelling, I gladly impress the fact upon others. It adds a neAV charm to every delightful scramble, and gives con tinual interest even to what might otherwise be considered a dull walk. I enjoyed our Spring rambles in California even more than I could have expected. The wonders of the Yose mite Valley, the sublimity of the forests, the shining siioavs ofthe Sierra Nevada, the lovely hills ofthe Coast ranges, and the vast regions of park-like land clothed in sheets of innumerable flowers, all combine to form a picture of beauty and magnificence which can never fade from the memory ofthe fortunate beholder. In the short time Avhich has passed since our visit to Japan, many changes are already reported to ha \*e taken place; and I understand that greater facilities are given to those avIio wish to travel in the interior.

There are, hoAvever, many other changes in full operation, which will be far less acceptable to lovers of the curious and the pic turesque. Fortunately, nothing can take away the exquisite charm and beauty of the country itself, and I hope that no thing will impair the amiable simplicity of the masses of the people. Nevertheless, if anybody contemplates a journey to Japan, he may be very sure that the sooner he goes the better he will like it. Let him take his strong boots, X

PREFACE.

. and sa}7 if he ever enjoyed anything more than a walking tour in the hilly region which AA7e visited. The Illustrations are chiefly taken from photographs, which have been carefully engraved by Mr. George Pearson ; but I am indebted for the mountain vieAV from Santiago in Chile to the Avell-knoAA7n pencil of my friend, Mr. William Simpson, avIio made the draAvingfrom a pen and-ink sketch taken by myself upon the spot; and the engraving of the Bridal Veil Fall is taken from a picture painted by the same artist, and kindly lent by Mr. William Longman for the purpose. T. W. HINCHLIFF. Lincoln's Inn Fikltis: March ] _7C. CONTENTS.

Chapter I

A Start for Brazil— Teneriffe and the Grand Canary — St. Vincent — Pernambnco — Bahia — Rio de Janeiro — The Koval Palms — The Imperador Moth — ( 111' to Petropolis — The ( h-gan Mountains — A 1 teligktful Garden— Vegetation of the Hills — Pern-hunting — Boad to Juiz da Fora — Agassiz and Glacial Action — Speed of the Mules — Rough Method of breaking them in — Ilumming-birds — Araucarias and Gigantic Aloes .... Pa<re 1 CHAPTER If. A" alley of the Retiro — A direful Spider — Evening — Entrerios and Palmeiras — Perns and Palmitos — Feather-flowers — Sail in the ' Neva ' — Storm at ni_rht - -Arrival at Buenos Ayres — Great changes — Railway progress — The ' Camp ' revisited — Owls and biscachas — Reports of Cholera — The magnificent ' Luxor ' — Arrival of the ' Fothen ' — Excursions ti > Ensenada and Chascomus —A brilliant shot Page 2(5 CHAPTER Iff.

Quarantine — The Deux ex machind — The Pampero at night — Start in the ' Eothen' — ' Seeing the New Year in' at sea — Cruelty in hoisting cattle — The Straits of Magellan — Sea-birds aud wonders of the Kelp — The tragedy of Sandy Point — Snow Mountains and Glaciers — Cape Pillar — Albatrosses and bad weather — Ooronel — The Gardens and Smelting Works of Lota — Arrival at Valparaiso Page CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

The Cochrane statue— ' Earthquakia '—The suburbs of Valparaiso— Building materials— Fox-hunting — Ohacabuco revels — Delightful climate— Railway to Santiago— Fruit— The bell of Quillota— Llai-Llai— Moonlight effects— The highest station— The plain of Santiago — Arrival by night — The Grand Hotel Santa Lucia and view of the Cordillera— Aconcagua and Tupungato— Will they ever he ascended ?........ Page 72

CHAPTER V.

The Alameda of Santiago — Precautions against fire — What became of the Jesuit Church — Remains of the dead — Bismarck in South America — A model farm in Chile — Climate and Irrigation — Baths of Cauquenes — Thrashing wheat — Refreshments at Rancagua — A strange coach-and-four — The Hot Springs — Golden Adiantum — A view in the hills — Great Aconcagua — Return to Valparaiso ........ Page 95

CHAPTER VI.

On hoard the 'Santa Rosa' — A Floating Fair — Porpoises on St. Valentine's Day — Coquinibo and Serena — Huasco Grapes — Mountains of Melons — Countless Pelicans — Luminous Pish — A ' Little Revolution ' in Bolivia — Iquique and Arica — Arica Mummies— Mollendo and Islay — Scorpion-fight — Peruvian Soldiers — Remarkable situation of Quilca — Astonished Whales — The Chincha Islands — Oallao Pao-e 119

CHAPTER VII.

First view of Lima— The Cathedral — Thoughts of Pizarro— Origin of the name of Lima— Climate of Lima — The Watershed of Peru— Breakfast at Chorillos— Fruits and Flowers — The Exhibition Building — Fair Ladies — The Alameda Nueva — Return of Rosito — Payta and had news from Panama^-Crossin" the Equator again—' Old Boots '—A Haunt of the Buccaneers— Arrival at Panama Page 147

CHAPTER VIII.

Great Fire at Panama— Difficult boating— The effect of Judge Lynch— The miseries of the ' Arizona '—' Dipping '—The Barber's Shop on board— St. Jost^ de Guatemala— Ohamporico not to he found— Acapulco— Rubbed with a Jelly-fish— Mexican atrocities— The Wrhale and tie ' Thrasher '— Doino-s of Brigands— Mazatlan— Sharp change of Climate— Gape St. Lucas— A lonely Post-office— Towing the ' Colima ' to San Francisco— The Golden (iate Page CONTENTS. XIII

CHAPTER IX.

Good living at San Francisco — ' Oldest Inhabitants ' — Living by Bears — Progress of Good Taste — Splendid Lupines — Cliff House and the Sea-lions — The Redwood Tree — Wild Flowers — Berkely University — Buildings in Earthquakia — The ' Heathen Chinee ' — A Chinese Theatre — The Chinese Immigration — The Mission Church of Dolores — Detestable Tramways — Californian Hospitality ........ Page 196

CHAPTER X.

A good pace over the Bay — Calistoga— The ' dare-devil ' Coachman of California — Corn and Wine — Poison-oak— Pine Flat and a Tragedy — A long jolting to the Geysers — Close to Gehenna- Nothing to eat — AA'hite Sulphur Springs — A Happy Valley — Californian (^ nail —The Poison-oak again — Return to San Francisco Page 220

CHAPTER XI.

Geographical comparison of Chile with California — Start for the Yoseinit. — Judging distances — Deserted Diggings — Lonely Chinamen near Mariposa — Skelton's — A lively Mule in the Forest — The ' Devil's Gulch ' and the ' Bishop's Creek ' — Hite's Cove and the Miners — The Demi-john defunct — A Miners' Inn — The Mule beaten — Fallen Rocks — Arrival in Yosemite Yallev ........... Page 242

CHAPTER XII.

The Yosemit. Valley — Its discovery — Indians — Size of the Valley — Inspiration Point and the Domes — Theories of formation — Erosion or Subsidence — The ' Bridal Veil ' — El Capitan — Leidig's Hotel — The great Yosemite Fall — The Sentinel Rock — The work of ancient Ice — The Mirror Lake — Avalanche Snow — Comparative Scenery — Return to Mariposa and Merced . Page 2B~

CHAPTER XIII.

Stockton and Milton — Fine drive to Murphy's — ' Trap-door ' Spiders — ' Shakes ' — The Big Trees of Calaveras — Cutting down a Giant — The ' Mother of the Forest' — The Prairie Owl — The Rising Generation — Sacramento City — Farewell to California — The Farallon Islands —Sea-lions and countless Birds — A Flying Escort across the Pacific — John L'hinamau on board — ' Terdidi Diem ' Our Escort departs — Arrival at Yokohama . . . Page CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIV.

First view of Yokohama — Substitutes for Cabs — Lilium Auratum — Start for the Interior — Our Head Coolie — Pelted with Blossoms — The ' Plains of Heaven' — Kanasawa — Kamakura, and the Temple of Hachimon — Daibootz — — Disestablishment of Buddhism— What the Priests thought of it — Popular Religion — Will they break their toys ? — The Holy Island of Inoshima — Race into Fuji-sa wa — A break-down — The Treaty Limit — Town of Odawarra — Abundance of Ferns — Destruction of Hata — A Native Gentleman — View of Hakoni Page 31 7

CHAPTER XV.

The Lake of Hakoni — Running Postmen — Sulphur Baths — Meanoshita — Apparition of Mat — The ' Good Gardener ' — The Baths — Two-man Ginrikishas — Native Curiosity- — Tattooing — A touch of Earthquake — A dangerous Bridge — Excursion to Totska — Caves and Tumblers — Japanese Executions — The Tomb of AA'iil Adams — His story — A Tattoo-Professor — Railway to Yeddo — Temples of Shiba — The 'Hundred Steps' — New Fashions — The Invisible Prince — Tombs of the Shoguns — Temple at Asakusa — The merciful Kuanon — Binzuru — A Japanese Tussaud — Miracles of Kuanon . . Page 340

CHAPTER XVI.

Departure from Yokohama — Waterfall at Hiogo — The Inland Sea — Countless Fishing-boats— Straits of Simonosaki — The Cathedral Rock— Nagasaki— Cruel method of Coaling a Ship — Farewell to Japan — A Japanese Pilot— His Powers of Drinking — Arrival at Shanghae — Chinese Heat at Midsummer — A Boat at Midnight — A'oyage to Hong Kong, and View of Formosa- Flora of Hong Kong— The ' Happy Valley '—Fresh Ferns— Crossing the Island to Little Hong Kong— A Hot Beach— Wild Pine-apples— Lychees and Mangosteens — Expected Typhoon — Visit to Canton — Chinese Gardens — Catastrophe of the ' Spark ' Pa»e 373 CHAPTER THE LAST. .-Sights in Canton— Temple of the Five Genii— Temple of the Five Hundred Gods— Chinese Shopkeepers— Goldsmiths— ' Dogmeat ' and 'Catmeat'— A Broken Bottle— The City Walls— Chinese Cleverness— Farewell to Hong Kong— Thoughts of Cambodia— Singapore— Divers— Botanical Gardens— A Mixed Crew— Perang— Myriads of Cocoa-nuts— The Atchinese— The Monsoon— Ceylon— The Cinnamon-Gardens— Great Rascals— Homeward-bound —The Milky Sea— Heat in the Red Sea— The Suez Canal— Alexandria- Home Again p LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Bridal Veil Fail, Yosemite Frontispiece (From a Picture by Wlltjam Simpson, Esq.) Summer Palace ai Peiropolis, Brazil . , . to fair p. 19 The Tuptn.G_._o Group, from Santiago, in Chile: . 90 (From a Drawing by AA'iiliam Simpson, Esq.) The Baths o_ Oau«uenes, in Chile ,, 112 Sea Birds, on the Coast of Peru 125 Sea-Lions, near San Francisco „ 204 The Dome and Hale Dome, Yosemite Valley ... „ 272 The Yosemite A'alley ani> Sentinel Rock ... „ 279 The Foot of a 'Bio Tree' ,, 302 Fujiyama, Japan » 310 Daibootz at Kamakura, Japan „ 331 View on the way to Hakoni, Japan „ 342 The -Goon Gardener' oj?

Japan at Home ... „ 351 Tun Cinnamon-Gardens in Ceylon „ HI OVER THE SEA AND FAE AWAY.

CHAPTER I.

A Start for Brazil — Teneriffe and the Grand Canary — St. Vincent — Pernambuco — Bahia — Rio de Janeiro — The Royal Palms — The Imperador Moth — Off' to Petropolis — The Organ Mountains — A Delightful Garden— Vegetation of the Hills — Fern-hunting — Road to Juiz da Fora— Agassiz and Glacial Action — Speed of the Mtdes — Rough Method of breaking them in — Humming-birds — Araucarias and Gigantic Aloes. ' Over the sea! 0 A7er the sea! ' What words of mao-ic __> charm to those who love the sea as I do in all its moods and fancies, and Avho never enjoy any prospect Avitli more unmixed satisfaction than that of a run to Southampton AA7ith a couple of portmanteaus, and the purpose of starting next day across the Ocean ! The Royal Mail ship ' Douro ' was already an old friend when Ave stepped on board her on October _ , 1873, for I was one of a party aa71io had tAvo years previously made a voyage in her to Rio de Janeiro ; and I hoped this might be a faA'ourable omen for a successful journey round the world.

It is impossible to mention a pleasanter route AA'ith which to begin such a journey, but yet there seems an astonishing prejudice in the popular mind against having anything to do with South America. The ordinary Eng lishman seems disposed to confuse all the different States of THE ' D0UR0.' the whole continent in one mass of danger, and imagines that, if he does not get his throat cut, he is bound to die of the yelloAv feA7er. Owing to these, and perhaps other equally ridiculous delusions, the fact remains that very few people go there, except those who are bound by commercial or professional ties ; and, as far as my oavh experience goes, I may say that I have been ten times into and out of Rio harbour, from north and south, in various years, and, excepting my own companions, I never had a fellow-pas senger avIio A\-as travelling for pleasure onby.

So much the better for those \a71io do go to those beautiful regions ; there is no appearance at present of that croAvd of tourists Avhich is gradually destroying the pleasure of seeing some of the fairest regions of the earth. Outside the Isle of Wight Ave ran into a very heavy swell, left behind by a gale of Avind, and for the first tAvo days the ' Douro ' danced a lively measure, which thinned the ranks of the passengers at feeding-time ; at night there were sounds as if all the glass and crockery were being smashed, but the casualties Avere found to be very slight Avhen morning came. I had an after cabin near the screw, Avhere, of course, the motion AA'as rather violent, and the captain told me a story of a man A'ery fond of hunting, Avho once had the same berth in similar Aveather, and Avho, on being asked next day if he had managed to sleep there, replied, 'Oh yes, first-rate, and I dreamt all night that I Avas jumping over hedges and ditches.' After this, a glassy sea bore us into Lisbon, where avb wandered about for a feAv hours, and said good bye to Europe in the afternoon.

Two or three days afterwards, in the early morning, we passed betAveen THE GRAXD CANARY. 3 Teneriffe, about twenty-fiA-e miles distant on the star board, and the Grand Canary Island much nearer on the port side. As the sun rose, the Peak came out splendidly clear of clouds, and clothed in snow toAA7ards the summit, Avhile the Grand Canary presented a very remarkable sight. The lofty and fantastic forms of the central vol canic mountains AArere draped in the gloomy blackness of a storm cloud, discharging deluges of rain, from the very edge of which a long headland, ending in a steep preci pice to the sea, AA7as shining serene and golden in the morning sun. After three days more of violet seas, just broken into crests by the sAveet breath of the north-east-trade Avind, Avith frightened flying-fish skimming over the waves in all directions, whales rolling like barges turned topsy-turvy, and merry porpoises running races as if for dear life against the ship, we found ourselves at St. Vincent, in the Cape de Verde Islands, on the tenth day from England.

This island is frequently Avithout rain for two or three years together, and I had ahvays seen it looking like a red, burnt-up mass of hills, culminating in rough and irregular volcanic rocks. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw a good deal of it touched Avith a delicate green, as the result of unAvonted shoAvers. "We went on shore at the invitation of Mr. Miller, the late Consul there, and practical king of the island, avIio kindly showed us over his factories and vast coal-stores, Avhich, together with the security of the harbour, form the sole raison d'etre of St. Vincent. It is, in fact, a harbour combined with a o-io-antic coal-cellar, for all the steamers that run up and down the Atlantic. The dirty operation of coaling B FERNANDO NORONHA. went on all day, while the ship was surrounded by boats full of young niggers and half-breeds, who spend their lives in diving for sixpences and shillings, in water which is so clear that a plate can be seen at fifty feet below the surface.

The love of gain even overcame the fear of sharks, which must have been near, for two half-groAvn ones Avere caught from the deck in the course of the day. As a proof of the advance of the English language, I observed that one of the darkies, who probably called himself John Brown, had painted JOHN BROON SBOTE on the stern of 'his OAvn canoe.' Four days later we crossed the Equator in the coolest Aveather I ever knew in the same position. A fresh easterly breeze just capped with foam the deep violet sea, and nothing could on this occasion have been less appli cable to the equatorial belt than the usual sailor's sobriquet of the ' doldrums.' We passed the island of Fernando Noronha, a Portuguese convict settlement, on the 25th, and saAv its wonderful obelisk of rock, which rises up exactly in the form of a lighthouse to such a height that I have seen it from fifty miles across the sea.

This is the scene of a recent picture in the ' Illustrated News,' which showed us the sea serpent rising out of the Avater and taking a ' double turn ' round a whale, Avhich he then dragged down to the bottom of the ocean. Credat Judæus I The next morning found us at Pernambuco, with its exquisitely green cocoa-nut palms coming doAvn to the edge of the sea. This place is renowned for its pine apples, Avhich are among the finest in the world, and happened on this occasion to be eA'en cheaper than usual. We got very good ones, weighing about six pounds, for MARKET AT BAHIA. half a milrei, or one shilling apiece ; but I ha\7e seen them very much larger, and have heard on good authority of their being sometimes grown at Para and Pernambuco to the weight of fifteen or twenty pounds. Three days more brought us to Bahia, Avhere Ave went on shore in time for breakfast, and then walked up the hill to smoke a cigar under the dense shade of mangoes and jack-fruit trees at a point Avhich commanded a view of the city and shipping beloAV us and the magnificent bay around.

It is scarcely possible to pass Bahia Avithout laying in a stock of humming-birds and beetles, and it is the best place to buy them. Everyone who is not much afraid of eA'il smells should Avalk through the markets and amuse himself by bargaining for mangoes, oranges, or marmoset monkeA's Avith the laughing negresses, Avho in the most brilliant coloured dresses and turbans preside over the stalls and chatter merrily. I suppose it was the wrong season for the navel-oranges Avhich I had ahvays been accustomed to find at Bahia, and which are such a speci alise of the place that they deserve a word in passing. They are almost as large as pomeloes, and the pips are collected in an excrescence on the outside, so that the inside is simply a mass of delicious juicy flesh without any of the leathery divisions Avhich form the only drawback to the delights of an ordinary orange.

Very early in the morning of the 31st Ave passed be tween the fort and the Sugarloaf Mountain and went into Rio de Janeiro, after heaA7y rains which had not yet cleared the sky of vapours dense enough to spoil the beauty of the vieAV. I must not dwell here too much on the charms of Rio scenery, as I endeavoured to describe the Atlantic AVANT OF HOTELS. side of South America more fully some years ago ; 1 and must merely confine myself to matters not then described or more recently changed. One remark, however, I must make now as I did then, though it does not come under either of these definitions. The miserable want of decent hotel accommodation I found just as conspicuous as it Avas a dozen years before; and it is hard to believe that in a city of four or five hundred thousand inhabitants, with immense commercial interests, there is only one hotel, the ' Estrangeros,' that is in any way worthy of the name ; and that the others are hardly equal to a third-rate inn in any proA'incial town of Europe.

The ' Estrangeros' even is far away from the business centres, and is yet in such demand that there is generally very little chance of getting a room there Avithout engaging it about a fortnight beforehand. We took up our quarters at the ' Nova York,' Avhich is the remains of McDowall's original estab lishment, and we had hardly been a quarter of an hour in the house before I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Gun ning, one of our best Rio friends in 1871, and the ablest cicerone for the Avhole neighbourhood. Under his guidance Ave had then ascended the strano-e peak of the Corcovado, which, though only 2,-100 feet above the sea, commands an astonishing view, and is the best point for comprehending the whole surrounding country. From the city and from the sea it looks perfectly inacces sible, and yet we took tAvo ladies to the top without fatigue and horses can go safely to within a short distance of the summit. .The upper half of the mountain is a perpendicular precipice of granite, except on one side, where a 1 ' South American Sketches.' 1863.

A MONSTER MOTH. 7 very good path winds upwards through a shady forest. Here I saAv what, for a moment, I mistook for a bird coming right at me Avith something like the jerky flight of a Avoodcock just flushed; but it proved to be only a very large Imperador moth. This species of moth is the largest of any I have seen, either alive or in collections, some specimens being from ten to tAvelve inches across their spotted pale brown Avings. A great variety of ferns ornament the sides of the road, amongst Avhich Avere tAvo lovely species of Lindsœa, which were quite hcav lo me, but the fern collector has to be careful about snakes, for we saw several, and killed tAvo in a very short time. The Botanical Garden is near the base of the CorcoA'ado, and its famous avenue of royal palms is a truly magnificent sight.

One of the many tramways lately established for the convenience of the city, runs thither in little more than an hour. The change made by these institutions has been very great indeed. When I kneAV Rio formerly, carriages AA7ere excessively expensive; and as the place is too hot for much Avalking, people seldom moved more than they Avere obliged to move : iioav the tram-cars are full all day with people going in eA7ery direction, and numbers of clerks and men of business are enabled to sleep in the loA7ely suburbs, amidst groves of oranges and gardens full of brilliant floAvers, instead of being cooped up in the city itself. The receipts of" the companies must be very large and the expenses small. Their tickets serve as small change, Avhich is a great convenience in a country Avhere there is nothing but paper money, with the exception of copper dumps, a cumbrous exaggeration of our extinct cartwheel penny-pieces.

THE ROYAL PALM. - The car stops at the very gate of the garden, where a startling effect is always awaiting a visitor for the first time. An avenue of one-third of a mile in length is formed by a double row of cabbage-palms {Oreodoxa regia) lining the broad path which intersects the garden. These noble palms are a hundred feet high, and have grown Avith such marvellous regularity that their crowns meet in a continuous arch, as if composed of glorified Corin thian capitals. There is a shorter similar avenue at right angles to the first; and in clear weather it is a charming sight to look up those tall pearl-grey stems to the shhiing green of leaves gently rustling under the ' central blue.' I Avas making notes one day at the foot of one of these giants, Avhen I heard a SAvishing sort of noise overhead, like that of heavy rain, though the sky Avas cloudless ; and a by stander had just time to Avarn me from the spot, when a dead leaf about twenty feet long, Avith a stem as thick as my arm, fell exactly Avhere I had been sitting.

It was just as if the royal palm had thrown down a leaf to enable the stranger to form some notion of his noble proportions. Right and left are broad laAvns planted with trees from various tropical regions, varied by floAver-beds and artificial pools of water, gay with lilies, and shaded by overhanging masses of bamboos. Here Avere palms and screw-pines, camphor trees, immense aloes, sago-palms {Cycas circinalis), mangoes, and plantains: but the handsomest foliage is that of the breadfruit tree {Artocar pus incisa), to Avhich my attention was first called by one of its fruits falling on the path close by us, Avith so heavy a thud as to leave no doubt about a headache at all events FIRST OF THE FKRNS. 9 for anyone upon whom it might have chanced to drop. At the back of the gardens, cultivation blends gradually Avith primitive simplicity, and they are only separated by a narrow ditch from the tangled jungle and confused masses of rocks Avhich surround the base of the Corcovado, and other mountains in the neighbourhood.

Here among deep-shaded nooks are lovely Adiantums of several species; and here, more in perfection than elsewhere, are beds of that exquisite fern, Doryopteris palmata, in stoop ing for which you may, as I did, lose the chance of catching a huge blue butterfly that dazzled me with its lustre as it mockingly rose beyond my reach. Few people, however, would wish to remain long in Rio itself, where the sights are soon exhausted ; especially when they knoAv of the delightful retreats which tempt them to homes among the surrounding mountains. Tijuca, Avith its admirably managed hotel, its shady gardens, its cool bathing places and dashing streams, is but a few miles from the capital, and forms an abode of bliss after a hot day's work ; but Ave wanted to go into more distant quarters at Petropolis, on the other side of the bay, and up in the heart of the Organ Mountains.