VALPARAISO. 



67 



which I carry my baggage. The original use 

 of these trunks^ which from their toughness 

 and lightness are invaluable to the traveller, 

 was for the transport overland of specie from 

 the mines, and there are straps at the bottom 

 of them intended for confining the gold and 

 silver; but they serve also as receptacles for 

 every sort of merchandise, as well as for fruit 

 and vegetables. 



After I was dressed I ran down to a wooden 

 pier not visible from the inn, and here, first I 

 beheld the blue Pacific rolling into the bay of 

 Valparaiso, which was crowded with shipping. 

 It was at the first sight of this sea from the 

 isthmus of Darien that Nunez de Balboa 

 and his followers were so overcome with asto- 

 nishment when they crossed the narrow neck 

 of land which divides it from the Atlantic. 

 Though it was not a matter of any astonish- 



