424 Voyage of the Novara. 



land!" The iVbyar« staff above all must doubly regret tlie 

 death of the "Nestor of Science." The warm and active in- 

 terest he took in their expedition contributed in no small 

 degree to advance its scientific efficiency, and if it be the 

 privilege of the Novara to live in the memory of the scien- 

 tific world, it will, as the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian 

 himself expressed it in a letter to the venerable philosopher, 

 ' ' redound in its honour to the latest ages, that it was per- 

 mitted to associate its name with that of Humboldt, who for 

 three generations of men has been associated with every 

 triumph that has been achieved in the domain of science." 



On the 21st, at 7 a.m., we anchored in the roads of Panama. 

 Large ships are obliged to lie to from two to three miles off 

 shore, as the beach is nothing but " si ike," and at ebb-tide 

 presents an immense unsightly expanse. 



The town of Panama (many fish), built on low green hills 

 amid the most magnificent forms of tropical vegetation, pre- 

 sents when viewed from seaward a most lovely, enchanting 

 aspect, especially to the traveller coming from the sterile 

 sandy shores of the west coast of South America. As soon, 

 however, as he sets foot on the shore, and has entered the 

 precincts of the city, his first pleasing impressions are rudely 

 dispelled. The streets are everywhere narrow and filthy, 

 the houses low and poverty-stricken in appearance ; even 

 upon their roofs the luxuriance of tropical vegetation bm-sts 

 forth ! Moreover the chief square with its cathedral leaves an 

 impression of decay. Only a few of the houses situate near the 



