04 THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. 



extinct craters, or otlierwise plainly attributable to volcanic 

 action, as I presume are the lakes of Tropical Mexico and 

 Peru. Be that as it niav, the want of water, or rather of 

 visible water, takes away much from the beauty of these 

 mountains, in which the eye gi'ows tired toward the end of 

 a day's journey with the monotonous surges of green wood- 

 land; and hails with relief, in going northward, the first 

 glimpse of the sea horizon ; in going south, the first glimpse 

 of the hazy lowland, in which the very roofs and chimney- 

 stalks of the sugar estates are pleasant to the eye from the 

 repose of their perpendicular and horizontal lines after the 

 perpetual unrest of rolling hills and tangled vegetation. 



We started, then (to begin my story), a little after five one 

 morning, from a solid old mansion in the cane-fields, which 

 bears the name of Paradise, and which has all the right 

 to the name which beautv of situation and f^oodness of in- 

 habitants can bestow. 



As we got into our saddles the humming-birds were 

 whirring round the tree-tops; the Qu'est-ce qu'il dits inquirinf^ 

 the subject of our talk. The black vultures sat about lookinc^ 

 on in silence, hoping that something to their advantage might 

 be dropped or left behind possibly that one of our horses 

 might die. 



Ere the last farewell was given, one of our party pointed 

 to a sight which I never saw before, and perhaps shall never 



