28 NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 



We were fortunate in having in our company- 

 Mr. W , a gentleman of Polish descent, to whose 



lively conversation we had owed much information 

 and amusement during the voyage from Southampton. 

 Now the owner of a large estate in Ecuador, he had 

 long known this region, and appeared to be on terms 

 of familiar acquaintance with all the strange visitors 

 gathered in the saloons at Panama, from the ex- 

 President of Peru to the negro head-waiter. The 

 latter, as we learned, was not the least important 

 member of the assemblage. In one of the numerous 

 revolutions at Panama he had played a leading part, 

 and had attained the rank of colonel. His party 

 being then out of office, he had for the time returned 

 to private life, but may possibly at the present day 

 be again an important person in the state. 



For the first time since leaving England the heat 

 at Panama during the midday hours was felt to be 

 oppressive, and we were content with a short stroll, 

 which, to any one familiar with old Spain, offered 

 little novelty. Unlike such mushroom spots as Colon, 

 Panama has all the appearance of an old Spanish 

 provincial town. It has suffered less from earth- 

 quakes than most of the places on the west coast, 

 and a large proportion of the buildings, including a 

 rather large cathedral, remain as they were built two 

 or three centuries ago. 



As the anchorage for large steamers is about three 

 miles from the town, we had an early summons to go 

 on board a small tender that lay alongside of a half- 

 ruined wharf, but were then detained more than an 

 hour, for no apparent reason other than as a tribute 



