286 



QUITO. 



able, and almost invariable. During the months of 

 December, January, February, and March, it gene- 

 rally rains every afternoon from half-past one to 

 five ; but even at this season the evenings and morn- 

 ings are most beautiful. The temperature is so mild 

 that vegetation never ceases. " From the terrace 

 of the government palace there is one of the most 

 enchanting prospects that human eye ever wit- 

 nessed, or nature ever exhibited. Looking to the 

 south, and glancing along towards the north, eleven 

 mountains covered with perpetual snow present 

 themselves, their bases apparently resting on the 

 verdant hills that surround the city, and their heads 

 piercing the blue arch of heaven, while the clouds 

 hover midway down them, or seem to crouch at 

 their feet. Among these the most lofty are Cayam- 

 beurcu, Imbaburu, Ilinisa, Antisana, Chimborazo, 

 and the beautifully-magnificent Cotopaxi, crowned 

 with its volcano."* 



Nearly nine months were devoted to researches 

 of various kinds. They made excursions to the 

 snowy mountains of Antisana, Cotopaxi, Tungura- 

 gua, and Chimborazo, the latter of which was con- 

 sidered as the highest on the globe until it was 

 found to be exceeded by some of the colossal sum- 

 mits of the Himmaleh, and even by several in Upper 

 Peru. In all these journeys they were accompanied 

 by a young man, son of the Marquis of Selva-alegre, 

 who subsequently followed them to Peru and Mexi- 

 co. f They twice ascended to the volcanic summit 

 of Pichincha, where they made experiments on the 

 constitution of the air — its elasticity, its electrical, 



* Stevenson's Residence in South America, vol. ii. p. 324. 



t This accomplished individual, Don Carlos Montufar, of whom our 

 author speaks with approbation, having connected himself with the 

 popular party in the struggles of which the Spanish colonies have lately 

 been the theatre, was seized in Quito, in 1811, by Don Toribio Montes, 

 sentenced as a traitor, and shot through the back ; after which his heart 

 was taken out and burnt.— See Stevenson" 1 s Residence in South America, 

 vol. iii. p. 44. 



