HALL’S EXCURSIONS, 335 
and the rich Fuchsia triphylla, clothe the banks of a shady dell, 
through which the road winds close to a beautiful cascade, 
which, seen from Quito, resembles a stripe of silver ribbon. 
Humming Birds, attracted by the abundance of their honeyed 
food, frequent the whole of this region. Close to the water- 
fall is a small farm-house, near to which the springs called 
Las Liayas de San Francisco gush from Trachytic rocks, and 
are received in a stone fountain, sculptured with the arms of 
the Seraphic Order, two hands clasped, from which the 
water is conveyed by an aqueduct, across the stream of the 
waterfall, and thence in subterranean conduits to the convent 
in the city. It is justly esteemed for its superior purity, 
being unmixed with the melted snows which descend from 
the Paramo. On one occasion, when Professor Jameson and 
myself visited this spot, we found the fountain adorned with 
garlands of flowers by the devotion of the Indians; but its 
sculptured basin and ornaments are fast going to decay. No 
prospect can be more magnificent than that which presents 
itself from the neighbourhood of the cascade. Quito lies 
immediately below us like a map, while the sound of its 
many bells comes up, mellowed by the distance: its sugar- 
loaf hill (El Panecillo) seems but a garden mount. We look 
over the edge, called El Chasque, which masks the city on 
the east, and commands the cultivated valley of Chillo, in 
the midst of which rises the isolated hill of Ylalo; the hori- 
zon is bounded by the eastern ridge of the Quitenian Andes, 
on the northern extremity of which rises the snowy mass of 
Cayambe, designating the line of the Equator; nearly on our 
front is Antisana; still further to the south, Sinchulagua, 
and the beautiful volcanic cone of Cotopaxi form the eastern 
extremity of the heights of Tiopullo, which connect them 
with the western ridge of Elenisa, Corazon, Atacayo and 
Pichincha, thus completing a circle of vision, pun 
unequalled in the grander features of mountain scenery. 
Immediately after passing this interesting tract, we entered 
* The accompanying plan (Tab. CXLL) may contribute to make this 
description more intelligible. The point A may be supposed the specta- 
