CAUTIOUS SEAMANSHIP. 211 



grounds. For every Irishman who is carried to a 

 distant land there is a strong probability of a distinct 

 gain to the world at large. 



I left the parqiie at Lota with my memory full of 

 pictures of a spot which, along with Mr. Cooke's 

 famous garden at Montserrat, near Cintra, and that of 

 M. Landon in the oasis of Biskra, I count as the 

 most beautiful garden that I have yet seen. 



A rather large island — Isla de Sta. Maria — lies off 

 the Chilian coast to the west of Lota, and is separated 

 on the southern side from the promontory of Lavapie 

 by a channel several miles wide. But as this is beset 

 with rocksj the rule of the German steamers is to 

 avoid the passage, excepting in clear weather by day. 

 In deference, therefore, to this cautious regulation, we 

 set our helm to the north on leaving Lota, two or 

 three hours after sunset, and only after keeping that 

 course for some ten miles, and running past the small 

 port of Coronel, steered out to seaward, and finally 

 resumed our proper southerly direction. Our sleep 

 was somewhat disturbed by the heavy rolling of the 

 ship during the night, and the morning of the ist of 

 June broke dimly amid heavy lowering clouds, just 

 such a day as one might expect at the corresponding 

 date (December i) on the western coast of Europe. 

 Although the sea was running high, there was little 

 wind. The barometer at daybreak stood at 29*98, 

 having risen a tenth of an inch since the previous 

 evening, and the temperature was about 52° Fahr. 

 In our seas one would suppose that a gale must have 

 recently prevailed at no great distance, but I believe 

 the fact to be that in the Southern Pacific high seas 



