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cipal street, which extends along the shore, and this is crossed by others that have been built down the declivity of the mountains. There are in Portobello two squares, a custom-house, a parish church, and two convents. It formerly had a large castle, but this was destroyed during the Spanish war, in 1739, by an attack of the English fleet under the command of admiral Vernon.

Some years ago Portobello was a place of considerable importance to the Spaniards, and, when its harbour was frequented by the Spanish fleet, it was a place of great trade. The climate, however, is extremely unhealthy; and the excessive heat is augmented by the situation of the town, which is surrounded by lofty mountains, that obstruct every current of air by which it might otherwise be refreshed.

If, from Portobello, we cross to the southern shore of the isthmus, we find there the city of Panama, in a hilly and insalubrious, but tolerably fertile territory, about eighty miles in extent. Panama was once a place of considerable trade, the residence of a governor, and the see of a bishop, and was an important depot for goods from Peru and Chili. The streets are straight, broad, and paved; and the houses in general are constructed of wood and bricks, and covered with tiles; but a conflagration, in 1784, and a total decline of commerce, have tended to reduce the place to a miserable condition. The environs of Panama consist of savannas or grassy plains, gentle eminences, and copses, among which numerous farm and plantation-houses are scattered.

There is a bay or harbour, in which ships can lie in perfect safety, at the distance of three leagues from the shore. This bay was formerly noted for the production of pearl oysters, and had an extensive pearl fishery. The fishery is still continued, but it is by no means so productive as it formerly was.

Nearly the whole territory of Darien is insalubrious, and is now almost abandoned to wild animals. The

miserable remains of the Indians who, in this province, escaped the Spanish sword and yoke, retired to the mountains, where their descendants still lead a wandering life, and subsist chiefly by the pursuits of the chase. Many rivers and brooks rise in the interior, and descend some into the Caribbean sea, and others into the Pacific ocean few of them are navigable, for their mouths are choked by bars and shoals of sand. The only considerable streams are those of the Darien and the Chagré, both of which are navigable to a considerable distance inland. The latter has its source not far from Panama, runs in a north-westerly direction, and falls into the gulf of Mexico about ten leagues west of Portobello.

Along the banks of these rivers there are forests of great depth. It is said that nothing can exceed in grandeur the prospects which the river Chagré affords. The most fertile imagination of a painter could never supply pictures so rich as the rural landscapes here exhibited. The groves which shade the plains, and extend their branches to the water; and the various dimensions of the trees that clothe the eminences, the texture and appearance of their leaves, the figure of their fruits, and the different tints of their foliage, are all truly admirable. To these must be added the brilliant plumage of the birds, and the singular appearance of numerous kinds of monkeys of various sizes and colours, some black, others brown, and others reddish or striped, which are seen to skip in troops from tree to tree, and to hang from the branches, throwing themselves into strange postures, and making a thousand extraordinary grimaces.

The isthmus of Darien, measured from Portobello to Panama, its two chief towns, is not more than thirtyseven miles in width. It is strengthened, however, by a chain of lofty mountains, which stretch through its whole length, and render it a solid barrier, capable of resisting the impulse of the opposite oceans.

Probably the greatest event which the physical cir

cumstances of the globe at this day present to the enterprise of man, would be the formation of a navigable canal across this isthmus, and the consequent junction of the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean. This magnificent project, pregnant with the most important consequences to mankind, is stated to be undoubtedly practicable. Baron de Humboldt has enumerated no fewer than nine different points, in North and South America, at which a junction of these oceans could be effected with reasonable prospects of success. Three only of these, however, are through the isthmus of Darien. It was formerly imagined that the river Chagré, which is navigable within five leagues of Panama, might have - been made to form part of the communication. But a canal cut through the mountains, that intervene between this river and the Pacific Ocean, would be both a difficult and a hazardous undertaking, and could probably only be effected on a small scale, and by an expensive system of locks and tunnels. A more practicable course would be, from the Caribbean sea, through the river San Juan, the great lake of Nicaragua, and the river Leon, which falls into the Pacific; or, to dig a canal from a bay in the Pacific, near Cape Corrientes, through land of no great elevation, and only fifteen or twenty miles in length, to the navigable stream of Naiapi, that falls into a river which discharges its waters into the Gulf of Darien.

Popayan.

Proceeding from the province of Darien, in a southerly direction, we enter that of Popayan, a district which has been in the possession of the Spaniards nearly three hundred years, and which is bounded on the south by Peru, and on the north and east by New Granada. The soil of this district is in general fertile, and yields an abundance of grain and fruit; and its pastures feed great numbers of cattle. Popayan is traversed by a range of lofty mountains, which are rich

in mines of gold, and precious stones. Its plains and valleys are watered by many streams; of which the rivers Santa Martha and Magdalena, are the most considerable.

The capital of this province is a tolerably well built city, on the bank of the river Cauca, in the midst of a delicious plain, and about a hundred miles west of the Pacific Ocean. It is the residence of a governor, and contains a cathedral, several convents, an university, and other public buildings; and about eight thousand inhabitants. The climate of Popayan is so mild that it enjoys a perpetual spring; but it is subject to earthquakes and violent storms of thunder. Towards the north and east, this place commands an unbounded prospect; but westward the view is interrupted by hills, covered with wood.

New Granada.

Adjacent to Popayan, on the west, lies New Granada, a province of considerable extent, and divided into seven civil and five military governments. Many parts of this province are extremely mountainous; and, in consequence of its extent and situation, it enjoys a great variety of climates. Its mountains abound in the precious metals: its forests are repositories of wild animals and noxious reptiles; and its level tracts are fertile in grain, fruits, roots, and pastures. The Spanish settlements in New Granada were formerly very productive, and the country was populous; but, for some years past, it has suffered much from ferocious political contests.

The capital of this province is Santa Fé de Begota, a city which has been built on an extensive plain, elevated several thousand feet above the level of the ocean, and distant from it nearly one hundred and eighty miles. This plain is encircled by lofty mountains, and has the appearance of having anciently been the bed of an immense lake. Santa Fé is the seat of

government, the see of an archbishop, and a place of considerable trade. It is tolerably well built, and contains a magnificent cathedral, an university, several convents, and monasteries, and about forty thousand inhabitants. The river which runs through it, rushes, by a narrow inlet, down a tremendous cataract, called Tequendama.

The province of New Granada contains several other towns; but of these only two appear to be deserving of notice, namely, Merida and Honda. The former has already been described *; and the latter is a pleasant little town on the bank of the Magdalena, and about sixty miles north-west of Santa Fé.

Fourteenth Day's Instruction.

PERU.

THREE hundred years ago Peru was a flourishing and powerful empire, the only country of America, besides. Mexico, that deserved the appellation of a civilized kingdom. It extended six hundred leagues along the Pacific Ocean, abounded in the precious metals, and was governed by a race of princes, with the title of Incas, or "lords," who were respected as fathers, obeyed as monarchs, and revered as divinities. The Peruvian monarchs possessed unbounded power; and this seems to have been uniformly accompanied with attention to the welfare of their subjects. Their families were prohibited by the laws from intermarrying with any others than descendants of the regal line; and they were distinguished by dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful for any others to assume. The monarch himself appeared with ensigus of royalty, that were reserved for him alone. The city of Cuzco was

See page 167.

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