THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN. 399 



under its shade. Among the herbaceous plants noticed, were 

 a white Anemone, the Habranthus hesperius, and last, but not 

 least, the beautiful Trojpmolum tricolor, which was just 

 beginning to come into bloom. Later in the season its elegant 

 twining stem and lovely flowers, coloured with yellow, scarlet, 

 and dark purple verging on black, clothed many of the 

 shrubs with a glory not their own. The day being splendidly 

 bright and clear, we had a wonderful view of the distant 

 Aconcagua, its glorious mass of glistening snow being dis- 

 played against a cloudless blue sky. 



The remainder of July passed without any events specially 

 worthy of notice, and on the 30th, shortly before noon, we 

 left Valparaiso Bay for Coquimbo, whither three British men- 

 of-war, the " Topaze," " Malacca," and " Mutine," had some 

 days earlier preceded us. We encountered a considerable 

 swell outside the bay, but had a very quiet passage, on the 

 whole, keeping not far from the land, the coast-line of which 

 is very bold and fine, the dark-coloured hills of the foreground 

 contrasting finely with the snowy range of the Cordillera 

 rising above them in the distance. The 31st was a beautiful 

 clear day, and between three and four we rounded the rocky 

 promontory which separates the small port of Herradura from 

 the bay of Coquimbo, and entered the latter, passing not far 

 from the Pajeros Mnos rocks, on which a group of brown 

 pelicans {Pelecanus thagus) were sitting with their heads rest- 

 ing on their breasts, while other individuals were employed 

 in fishing about the neighbourhood. We anchored near the 

 other British ships, off the town of Coquimbo, the vicinity of 

 which presented a singularly sandy desert-like appearance, 

 and here we remained throughout the month of August, 

 enjoying delightful weather, and, thanks to the kindness of 

 the English residents, passing the time very pleasantly. 



