Aus;. 1834. Valparaiso. 309 



*t5 



this pointj owe the greater part of their beauty to the atmo- 

 sphere through which they are seen. When the sun was set- 

 ting in the Pacific, it was admirable to watch how clearly 

 their rugged outlines could be distinguished, yet how varied 

 and how delicate were the shades of their colour. 



I had the good fortune to find living here Mr. Richard 

 Corfield, an old schoolfellow and friend, to whose hospitality 

 and kindness I was greatly indebted, in having afforded me 

 a most pleasant residence during the Beagle's stay in Chile. 

 The immediate neighbourhood of Valparaiso is not very 

 productive to the naturahst. The surrounding hills consist 

 of a granitic formation, which sometimes assumes the cha- 

 racter of gneiss, and sometimes of granite. Their summits 

 are flat-topped, and their flanks rounded. I have before stated, 

 that forests cover that side of the Cordillera which fronts the 

 prevailing winds. Here, during the summer, which forms the 

 longer portion of the year, the winds blow steadily from the 

 southward, and a little off shore, so that rain never falls : 

 during the three winter months it is however sufficiently 

 abundant. The vegetation in consequence is very scanty. 

 Except in some deep valleys, trees nowhere occur, and only a 

 little grass and a few low bushes are scattered over the less 

 steep parts of the hills. When we reflect that, at the dis- 

 tance of 350 miles to the southward, this side of the Andes 

 is completely hidden by one impenetrable forest, the contrast 

 is very remarkable. 



I took several long walks while collecting objects of na- 

 tural history. The country is pleasant for exercise. There 

 are many very beautiful flowers, and as in most other dry 

 climates, the plants and shrubs possess strong and peculiar 

 odours ; even one's clothes by brushing through them became 

 scented. I did not yet cease from wonder, at finding each 

 succeeding day as fine as the foregoing. What a difference 

 does cHmate make in the enjoyment of life ! How opposite 

 are the sensations when viewing black mountains half-enve- 

 loped in clouds, and seeing another range through the light 



