A Thousand- Mile JValk 
proffered aid of steam, when we soon reached 
our quiet mid-harbor quarters and dropped 
anchor among ships of every size from every 
sea. 
I was still four or five hundred yards from 
land and could determine no plant in sight ex- 
cepting the long arched leaf banners of the 
banana and the palm, which made a brave 
show on the Morro Hill. When we were ap- 
proaching the land, I observed that in some 
places it was distinctly yellow, and I wondered 
while we were yet some miles distant whether 
the color belonged to the ground or to sheets of 
flowers. From our harbor home I could now 
see that the color was plant-gold. On one side 
of the harbor was a city of these yellow plants ; 
on the other, a city of yellow stucco houses, 
narrowly and confusedly congregated. 
“Do you want to go ashore?” said the cap- 
tain to me. “Yes,” I replied, “but I wish to go 
to the plant side of the harbor.” “Oh, well,” 
he said, “come with me now. There are some 
fine squares and gardens in the city, full of all 
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