Aug. 1834. 



VALPARAISO. 



309 



this point; 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 naturalist. 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 climate 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 



