THE ROMANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



behold the constellation of the Cross, and the 

 Magellanic clouds circling over the South Pole; 

 when he shall come in sight of the snow of the 

 Chimborazo, and of the column of smoke ascend- 

 ing from the Volcano of Quito ; when, for the first 

 time, he shall gaze on a grove of tree-ferns, or on 

 the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The days 

 on which such wishes are fulfilled mark epochs in 

 life, and create indelible impressions ; exciting feel- 

 ings which require not to be accounted for by a 

 process of reasoning."* 



* "Views of Nature," p. 417. 



186 



