122 



THREE YEARS IN THE PACIFIC. 



Than those whereof such things the bard relates. 



Who to the awe-struck world unlock'd Elysium's gates ?"* 



As before, we kedged down the cuesta, always looking at 

 the scene before us, when not prevented by winding far into 

 the quebrada ; indeed it seemed impossible to take the eye from 

 it. Having passed the cuesta, the road became level, and we 

 drove rapidly. The sun had ceased to cast his rays on the glit- 

 tering mountain, and the curtain of night began to darken the 

 vega ; but the rosy tint of the snow, and the glowing sky above^ 

 still remained when we arrived at the entrance of the city. 



The view of the Andes, which absorbed our whole attention 

 during the afternoon, leading the mind into a thousand specu- 

 lations, left us, when the day closed, with feelings elevated far 

 above the ordinary concerns of life. But at the entrance of the 

 city, all that elevation was dashed down, and the mind forced 

 into a new channel. The officers of the customs, stationed at 

 the outskirts of the capital, stopped us. Two long lank fel- 

 lows, with broad brimmed straw hats, tied under the chin, the 

 brim floating free, and long, dark colored ponchos, made their 

 appearance. One held a dirty tallow candle in one hand, and 

 bent the long lean fingers of the other round the flame, to de- 

 fend it from the air, at the same time endeavoring to look over 

 the light, for the glare prevented him from seeing any thing. 

 They first advanced upon the Frenchman, whom, after much 

 grumbling on his part, they forced to dismount. A man of his 

 dimensions is generally good natured, but he did not rise wil- 

 lingly from a seat in which he had been settled for two hours. 

 As he stepped cautiously to the ground, a deep groan, ab imo 

 pectore^ escaped slowly from his lips, infusing itself into the 



* The battle of Maypo, which fixed the destinies of Chile, was fought on 

 the 5th of April, 1818. The royalist army was 6,000 strong, and that of the 

 patriots 6,500, including 1,000 militia. The victory was complete. About 2,000 

 royalists were slain, and 3,500 were made prisoners. The patriot loss was 

 1,000 in killed and wounded. 



Previous to this brilliant victory, Chile had been depressed by the disastrous 

 affair at Cancha Rayada, but so great was the excitement and joy on the recep- 

 tion of the news from Maypo, that several persons irrevocably lost their reason ! 

 See Memoirs of General Miller ^ vol, 1. London, 1828. 



