A. S. Forrest

“ To stand on the top of this immense pile of masonry{248} and survey the valley and distant country is to add a unique sensation to life’s experiences. The river is far below with a toylike mill upon its edge, the winding roadway is dotted with specks that look like insects, and the far-off mountains float like clouds in the distant haze. From whatever point of view it is contemplated—from above or below—from a distance or from at hand it fills the mind with an unbounded respect for the genius of its builders. ”

“ Travellers from Valparaiso are filled with admiration and delight when their eyes rest upon the sea-board of Ecuador and Colombia, for after the arid monotony of the Chilian and Peruvian coast-lines, where scarcely ever a drop of rain falls to freshen the verdure, the change is to a tropical paradise. The expanse of glorious greenery refreshes the vision—an exhilarating exchange from the dun-coloured vistas which have been left behind. Guayaquil, the principal port of Ecuador, is one of the best situated on the whole of the Pacific littoral, but, unfortunately, is perhaps the most unhealthy. ”

“ Provence is well supplied with lofty points of vantage, from which extensive prospects are before the spectator, and enable him to understand somewhat why Provence was chosen as a home for chivalry and a garden for romance. Castles rise up on nearly every point of vantage. Great cypress-trees shelter the low-lying fields. Farmhouses nestle in the protection of rising ground, upon which they would not, like the great stern castles and watch-towers, be able to retain a foothold when the mistral sweeps the heights. For the elements are at their strongest in Provence. ”

“ If the republic in many of its features cannot compare for sheer interest with its neighbours, it has yet a commanding claim to the attention of antiquarians, for it possesses the city of Cartagena, which was the most ancient and strongest of the Spanish power in South America. The renown of the city’s prototype in Spain, itself inheriting the name of the still more ancient and famous colony, Carthage, was transplanted to the New World, and for two centuries it enjoyed the esteem of the whole maritime world. Its sun-bleached walls still endure, stern relics of the power of Spain. ”

“ The “Pont du Gard,” which was one of Agrippa’s greatest engineering feats, remains the most colossal Roman monument in France. Remoulins, the little village that lies nearest to the bridge, is easily reached by train either from Nîmes or Avignon, and the road along the banks of the Gard is full of rural charm, for it passes vineyards, homesteads, ploughed fields, and green pastures. Great steep hills rising up on either side of the river enclose the valley, and when one suddenly catches sight of the towering masonry of the aqueduct that spans the river the sensations aroused are bewildering. ”

“ Tall palms, feathery bamboos wafted by the gentlest breezes, give a sense of life even on the calmest days. Rio is a fitting mistress for an exuberant poet, for he could never weary of versing her charms, extolling her exceeding beauty, or revelling in her enchantment. Its shores and its mountain slopes, the fascination of their varied aspects, provoke his enthusiasm at every turn. They possess wonders that can never stale, charms that can never tire. Even if this world-famed harbour is entered when night has hidden the wonders of its mountains from view, the scene is most impressive ”

“ At every turning, in front of every doorway, in the ancient chapel, in the roofless convent of the White Penitents, at the cemetery and the Château, the old man shakes his head and croons to himself in a voice ineffably sad, “Ah! Les Baux!” Nearly every house in the town is, in some part, hewn out of the rocks, and what carving and masonry they possess is generally on their fronts and gables. ”

“ The towns and villages that lie along the route are partially hidden by the dense foliage of the tropical vegetation that bespeaks the richness of the soil. The undulating hills through which the railway winds offer a change of view at every moment of the journey. The rich red earth accentuates and intensifies the green of the foliage, whilst the stain of it tinges everything it touches. The railway carriages, constructed on American models, are full of the fine red dust, and the passengers have a ruddy hue when they descend from a journey through the country. ”

“ One can easily, in imagination, fill these chambers with the laughing maids of honour, bending over their tambours and tapestry work, or poring over some book with its delicately painted pages in which the romances of the Troubadours were set forth—one reading aloud for the benefit of the others some long narration of days gone by: perchance the very popular story, rhymed in true Troubadour fashion, about the inmates of the Castle of Beaucaire, that from the windows of the King’s and the Ladies’ apartment could be seen so distinctly in the sunlight. ”

“ Although the city stands upon flat ground, it has a magnificent panorama of undulating hills spread before it. Innumerable islets, bays, and capes fill the great harbour, and as the steamer makes its way across the smooth waters it passes many of the loveliest bits of tropical scenery to be found anywhere. Cartagena formerly possessed untold wealth; rich and powerful merchants prospered within its protecting walls. Its fame was world-wide, and attracted the unwelcome attentions of the pirates, adventurers, and privateers of the sixteenth century. ”

“ The sculptors have been lavish of their time and talents, and although the freshness of their delicate and bold carvings has worn off, time has softened and mellowed them, even as it does a refined or noble human face. The smaller monument is a specimen of a triumphal arch, much damaged, but what remains is more beautiful in its proportions and simplicity than many of the larger triumphal arches found in Provence. ”

“ ENTRANCE TO RIO HARBOUR.
growth and vegetation, the wild, disordered beauty of nature’s arrangements, the rich-growing wilderness of tropical greenery that springs up everywhere is past belief. When examined closer, the vegetation upon the islands and the mountain slopes is bewildering in its profusion. The colour of all nature, under the tropical sun which shines through the misty haze of the moist heated atmosphere, is full of mystery and charm. The forms that the giant trees assume, with innumerable parasites clinging to them, are indescribable. ”

“ THE ARCH AT CARPENTRAS. valley in which are the ruins of a Roman aqueduct, to the bare slopes of the snow-crested Mont Ventoux, is one of varied charm. Groups of little houses peep out from amongst the trees; clumps of tall cypress, ranged like a{272} wall of spires, protect the vineyards from the blighting mistral’s chill; villages nestle in the shelter of trees whose rich foliage lingers long after summer has departed; a Provençal landscape lies all around the town, bewitching the eye and captivating the emotions. ”

“ There is little interesting about the ruined city except its associations with the past. It is dead, and nature is striving hard to inter it decently beneath a luxuriant pall of green. One can only visit the spot to stir the imagination and call up its wondrous past. On this spot Pizarro banded his followers together, and from the now overgrown harbour walls his little fleet set sail on one of the most momentous voyages on record. The happenings in “old Panama” make the first page in the voluminous history of the great sub-continent. ”

“ At night the gloom and mystery increases, and the footfall of the solitary passer-by awakens echoes through the endless vaults that seem to reach into the beginning and end of time. And yet when the moon creeps up and throws her pale rays over the giant seats that rise in circles like the rings on a disturbed pool, the Arena has a beauty all its own—unpaintable, unspeakable. ”

“ The air is alive with melody. The whir of wings, and the rustling of the dew-drenched grass as the tame deer bounds along, vary the sounds. The warm light of the new-risen sun tinges all objects with the mellowest hues. The greens are softer in the morning light; the thousand distant isles and hills lie veiled in the melting mists; the colonial architecture of the dwellings on the island imparts an air of homely comfort to the scene—an air that most tropical scenery generally lacks. ”