ANDACOLLO —LIMA PANAMA JAMAICA. 1 59 



tions I could have picked out as a home for man before 

 his fall. At Bolton^s I got a wretched pony to take me 

 up the ascent to Newcastle^ my own Bucephalus show- 

 ing signs of giving out. I think the ascent was even 

 more lovely than the first part of the road ; I can't 

 describe it ; who can describe scenery ? Half-way up 

 I came upon the stream prattling across the path ; the 

 sun even penetrated through the thick shade of the 

 trees, which met overhead, and so I hobbled my pony 

 under a wild fruit tree, and, following the streamlet a 

 few yards up, I came upon a natural basin delved out of 

 the solid granite. I stripped off my clothes and plunged 

 into the water; I do not remember having ever enjoyed 

 a bathe so much in my life. As the road approaches 

 Newcastle the atmosphere undergoes a sensible change ; 

 indeed, at Newcastle itself blankets are used on the 

 beds. Dog roses and magnolias lined the road, and ferns 

 took the place of the bamboo and mango. 



From Newcastle I went on to the '^ Fern Walk.'' I 

 will not weary the reader with attempting to describe 

 this most exquisite piece of scenery ; suffice it to say, it 

 was perfection. If he can imagine the tropical depart- 

 ment at Kew Gardens lengthened out for some three 

 miles, only many times more beautiful, he may have 

 some faint idea of it. How can I describe in words that 

 exquisite creation, a tree fern ? its symmetrical stem 

 rising sometimes thirty feet, topped with its crown of 

 feathery quivering fronds, gemmed with the morning 

 dew, which now and then a humming bird, like a huge 

 green emerald, stops to sip. Ah, me ! it is indeed a lovely 

 land, and when one sees such riches running to waste, 

 it makes us wonder whether such places are merely God's 

 gardens, meant only for man to rest his eye upon. 



