of an Orchid Hunter* i 3; 



besides filling the important positions of Minister of 

 Finance and Prime Minister of his own country. 

 He is a man of great force of character and refined 

 literary tastes, and speaks fluently several languages. 



All the environs of Bogota are pretty and pictur- 

 esque, especially the two peaks called Monserrate and 

 Guadalupe — in the immediate vicinity and overlooking 

 the city of Bogota. This extraordinary formation 

 seems to have been one mountain, but earthquakes 

 and torrents have cut a wide breach and left the two 

 peaks separated by a yawning chasm. The one called 

 Guadalupe reaches a height of something like two 

 thousand feet above the level of the city, and ten 

 thousand feet above the sea. A small hermitage was 

 built on the top of the mountain as far back as the year 

 1656, but this was destroyed by an earthquake in 1827. 

 Forty years after, another church was commenced, as 

 well as a monument. The whitewashed columns of 

 these edifices may be seen from almost every part of the 

 plain below — appearing like grim forts built to defend 

 the city, which will, probably, never be in danger. 

 The other height, called Monserrate, is separated 

 from its neighbour only by a deep ravine. On the 

 summit of this peak another church has been built, 

 also whitewashed ; this is somewhat lower than the 

 other, and is approached by a winding track, in some 

 parts almost perpendicular. A perpetual spring run- 



