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there reigns perpetually a soft spring temperature, which never varies more than 7° or 9 of Fahrenheit; the mean heat of the whole year is from 68° to 70°.

The third division of the climate comprehends the plains which are elevated 7000 feet above the level of the sea. This is the height of the eity of Mexico, and in summer the thermometer seldom rises above 75°, while in winter it ranges between 55° and 70°. The mean temperature of the whole Table Land is 623, which is about equal to the temperature of Rome. The plains, which rise above the height of 8000 feet, possess, though within the tropics, a rude and disagreeable climate, even to an inhabitant of the north.

Towards the west, the descent from the Table Land is much more steep than towards the east. Setting out from the city of Mexico, which is situated at nearly an equal distance from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans towards the east, on the road to Vera Cruz, the traveller advances 180 miles before a single valley occurs, of which the bottom does not rise 3280 feet above the level of the sea. In the opposite direction from Mexico to Acapulco, the road descends the same depth in the space of 50 miles. The eastern declivity of the Andes is so regular and uniform, that when once the traveller begins to descend from the great central plain, he continues his descent until he arrives at the eastern coast. The western coast is furrowed by four very remarkable longitudinal valleys, of which the respective heights above the level of the sea are 3217, 1685, 557, 518 feet. The road towards Asia from Mexico thus differs from the road towards Europe. For the space of about 220 miles, the distance in a straight line from Mexico to Acapulco, there is a

continual ascent and descent, and every instant the traveller arrives from a cold climate, to regions excessively hot. On the contrary, of the 250 miles from Mexico to the port of Vera Cruz, the greater part belongs to the great central plain, which extends, with little interruption, from the 18th to the 40th degree of N. lat. a distance nearly equal to that of the town of Lyons from the tropic of Cancer. The rest of the road is a continued and laborious descent. To such of our readers as consider this singular configuration of the ground, it must be obvious, that a country so elevated, and to be reached only by a continued ascent through difficult roads, must abound in defensive military positions, and that, with the least degree of skill on the part of its defenders, it could not be conquered but at such an expence of blood, as no state could afford to lavish away in its purchase.

Mexico, from its position between Europe and Asia, appears admirably adapted for carrying on an extensive commerce with both continents, five or six weeks being sufficient for communicating with either, while the country, from its diversified climate, would yield the various produce both of the warm and temperate regions, and would thus supply in abundance the materials of an extensive exchange with other countries. The mountains contain ores of every kind of metal, and there are abundant mines, not only of the precious metals, but also of copper, lead, ting alum, vitriol, and different sorts of precious stones. Among the forest trees are the cedar, Brazil wood, mahogany, and every sort of timber either for use or ornament.

The following is an account of the most remarkable towns in Mexico or New Spain :

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The New Californias contain a population of about 25,000, who live in scattered settlements and villages.

In no part of Spanish America has the flame of civil commotion raged more fiercely than in Mexico. The insurgents who took up arms against the dominion of the mother-country, amounted at one period to about 40,000. Advancing upon the capital with a commanding force, they were foiled by the prudence and activity of Venegas the governor, who, pursuing them in their retreat, at last succeeded in dispersing them, and in seizing the ringleaders, who, with vast numbers of other unfortunate persons embarked in the same cause, perished miserably on the scaffold. The insurgents thus failing in the efforts of regular war, dispersed in small guerilla parties, occupying all the avenues and roads, and harassing their enemies by every mode of irregular annoyance. The accounts received of the state of this country are exceedingly imperfect; but if they can at all be relied on, the royalist armies seem, for the present, to have triumphed over their enemies.

In the southern provinces the insurrection against the dominion of themo ther-country, was carried on with various fortune; but, ultimately, the advantage appears to have been on the side of the insurgents. Their forces, according to the accounts received, have been often beaten and dispersed. But the spirit of resistance never appears to have been crushed. The insurgent armies have always rallied, and at present they have taken the field with recruited strength, and have, in different points, gained the most signal victories over their opponents. In the Caraccas, of which we shall now give a brief account, they have been successful in repeated battles against the royal troops; and, as a proof that this is no vain boast, they are in possession of some of the most important places of the country.

In the extensive province of the

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Caraccas are included five other subordinate provinces or governments, the centre; the government of Manamely, the province of Venezuela in racaibo on the west; Guiana on the south; the government of Cumana on the east ; and the island of Margaretta on the north-east. It is bounded on the north from the Cape de Vela, to the point of Paria by the Carribean Sea; on the east by the Atlantic; on the south by Dutch Guiana; and on the west by the kingdom of Santa Fé. From its position, which is between the 12th degree of N. lat. and the equinoctial line, this country might be expected to be subject to a scorching sun, and to be scarcely habitable on account of its excessive heat. In many parts, however, more especially towards the interior, the heat is tempered by the elevation of the ground, so that the inhabitants enjoy a pleasant medium between the opposite extremes of heat and cold. singularity of temperature to a chain They are indebted for this of the Andes of moderate height, and in breadth generally from about 20 to 10 leagues, which traverses the whole extent of their country, winding in a direction generally from E. to W., and finally loses itself in the island of Trinidad. The elevation of this chain varies in different parts, and those inequalities of surface give rise to such varieties of temperature, that numerous diversities of the vegetable tribes, which in other countries grow to maturity under very different degrees of latitude, are brought together and flourish in this more favoured spot. To the north of these mountains, in the great valley of the Orinoco, by which river they are bounded to the south, immense plains stretch out on a dead level for several hundreds of miles; and here the heat is intense, sometimes rising to 115 degrees of Fahrenheit. On these plains grows a tall and rank herbage, on which numerous herds of cattle are fed, and these constitute the

Spanish America.

principal wealth of the landed pro-
The
prietors of these desert tracts.
aspect of the country is agreeably di-
versified by lakes and rivers. Of the
lakes, those of Maracaibo and Valencia
are the largest. The breadth of the
former is 50 leagues, and its length
30; the latter is 14 leagues in breadth,
and 6 in length. Every part of the
country abounds in rivers, which, if
they have not a sufficient quantity of
water for navigation, would, however,
afford a far greater quantity for irri-
gation than is at present required for
this purpose by the indolent inhabi-
We
tants of this fertile country.
have already mentioned, that a ridge
of the Andes, of moderate elevation,
runs through the whole of the Carac-
cas, in a winding course, from east to
west. This range is the highest
ground in the country, and, conse-
quently, forms the dividing ridge be-
tween the streams which run south
and those which run north. The lat-
ter rise on the northern declivity of
these mountains, and fall into the Car-
ribean Sea. The principal of these
are the Guiges, Tocuyo, Aroa, Yara-
cuy, Tuy, Unara, Neveri, Manza-
nares. Their course is generally down
a channel of considerable declivity,
and is therefore rapid; and their
banks are so high, that they form a
natural barrier against the irruption
of the stream, so that it seldom over-
flows. All the rivers which have
their rise on the southern declivity
of these mountains run southward,
and descend into the common chan-
nel of the great Orinoco, into which
flow all the waters of that vast val-
ley which is bounded on the north
by the ridge of mountains already
mentioned, and on the south by the
ridge which divides the streams that
fall into the Orinoco from those that
fall into the Amazons or Maranon.
As these rivers have their course
through level plains, their beds are
shallower than those which run down
the declivity of the mountains; and,
in the rainy season, accordingly, they
mingle their waters during a great
part of the year, and resemble rather
one vast sea than rivers which have
The most
overflowed their banks.
considerable of those rivers which fall
into the Orinoco are the Mamo, the
Pariagon and Pao, the Chivata and
Zoa, the Cachimamo, the Aracay, the
Manapira and Espino, and, lastly, the
great river Apure, which enters the

Orinoco by a variety of channels, and
which, with its numerous tributary
streams, inundates, during the rainy
season, a great proportion of the
country through which it flows. This
inundation covers a larger space as the
rivers approach the ocean; and, at the
mouth of the Orinoco, the flat coun-
try presents a vast sea of fresh water
to the extent of nearly 600 miles.
The rise of the rivers commences in
April, and about October they begin
to retire from the flat country, and
continue falling till the end of Fe-
bruary, when they generally are at
the lowest.

The population of the Caraccas is
chiefly concentrated on the northern
The principal
declivity of the mountains which tra-
verse the country.
towns are also established in this
quarter;-these are, Caraccas, the ca-
pital, containing 34,000 inhabitants,
and situated in 10° 31′ N. lat., at an
elevation of 460 toises, which secures
it against the scorching heats usual in
the tropical regions; Cumana, con-
taining 24,000 inhabitants, and si-
tuated on the coast of the Carribean
Sea, in lat. 10° 37' N.; Porto Cabello,
or Cavello, containing 7500 inhabi
tants, situated in 10° 20' N. lat., 90
miles west from Caraccas, on the shore
of the Carribean Sea; Valencia, con-
taining 6500 inhabitants, situated on
the beautiful lake of the same name,
in lat. 10° 9' N.; Maracay, popula-
tion 8400; Guira, population 6000,
situated on the coast of the Carribean
Sea, and liable to putrid fevers-in
this place Reaumur's thermometer
rises to from 25° to 28° degrees-it is
15 miles west from Caraccas; Tul-
mero, containing 8000 inhabitants,
and situated on the Lake of Valencia;
Victoria, 18 miles east of Tulmero,
and containing 7800 inhabitants;
Coro, containing 10,000 inhabitants,
and situated in N. lat. 10° 8', 72 miles
west from Caraccas; Carora, contain-
ing 6200 inhabitants, situated in N.
lat. 10°, 45 miles east of Lake Mara-
caibo, and 270 west of Caraccas; Bar-
quisimeto, population 11,300, situated
in 9° 45′ N. lat. The heat in this
place is frequently 28° and 29° of
Reaumur-it is 120 miles WSW. of
Caraccas; Tocuyo, population 10,000,
situated in N. lat. 9° 35', 270 miles
SW. of Caraccas; Guanara, population
12,300, situated in 8° 14' N. lat., 279
miles SW. from Caraccas.

(To be continued.)

EXTRACTS FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE OF A TRAVELLER VISITING

ITALY.

[These letters were not written with the intention of being published, which is one of their recommendations. They contain the natural expression of the feelings and

observations of a well informed traveller on a most interesting route, and appeared to the friend to whom they were addressed to contain both information and enter

tainment, which would be acceptable to others.]

Geneva, 29th September 1817.

I WRITE to you from Les Balances, the best inn of this deservedly celebrated place. I arrived here yesterday at half past five in the afternoon, on the ninth day of my journey, having left Paris on the 20th, at eight A. M. I had to wait two hours in the street that morning in consequence of the stupidity of a Sicilian, who had not got his passport, and the laziness of Pasta and his wife, (who sang at the Opera House in London lately,) and in consequence of the toilet business of some of the ladies, my fellow travellers. We were to have started at six. My journey hither has been, upon the whole, pleasant enough. Domenico Cervelli (the voiturier) is very complaisant and attentive; a big, very robust, and formidable looking, good natured Roman, between forty and fifty. I have been extremely fortunate in procuring the services of an Italian domestic of a mature age, (about fifty,) who has been in service with a number of very respectable people, and who has a most excellent character for sobriety, honesty, goodnature, attention, and economy. He has been in England, Spain, Portugal, and the West Indies, and has travelled through France, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, several times, with his different masters. The Vetturino is hard enough work for me, although certainly preferable, in most respects, to the Diligence. I rise every morning at four, at the latest, because we go on but slowly, and it is necessary to set off very early every day, in order to accomplish the set distance before night-fall, as the vetturino does not travel during the night. I have been thrice roused at three in the morning, the other times at four. We generally reached our Auberge for the night about seven or eight in the evening;

VOL. II.

66

however, I do not feel knocked up at all, and hope to stand out to the end. I shall not at present enter into particulars about my journey from Paris to Morez, fourteen and a half leagues from Geneva, but shall endeavour to give you some faint idea of what I saw yesterday; a day on which I received impressions never to be effaced. We left Morez at four o'clock in the morning, and passed through it on foot, the moon shining brightly upon the dark wooded rocks and hills that surround this town. We continued to walk on about two miles to save the horses during a steep ascent; the moon disappearing gradually behind the hills, while from the east stepped forth the morning," truly the Pododánтuxos nas. The equal diffusion of a fine crimson colour on the clear sky of the mountainous horizon, foretold a delightful day, and it was so,-warm, pure, and bright. We passed the custom-house at Les Rousses, without being searched, our passports only were demanded ;-beautiful scenery all the way;-our road wound along the sides of the mountain, and overhung beautiful valleys, from the sides of which shot up tall fir-trees, their tops level with our mountain path;-the road in many places narrow, and bordering on the most giddy precipices ;—the bottoms of the valleys seen at a most profound depth, with a few small houses scattered here and there. About ten o'clock Vincenzo (my servant) came to the door of the vetturino, and desired me to alight, and come with him. I did so, and he led me to the summit of a little hill which rose by the side of the road, between the barrier hills, through which we were passing; we were in the department of Lain. Pointing towards what I conceived (without a glass) to be an immense assemblage of dark clouds, with white edges, on the distant horizon, he ut tered the electrical words, "Voilà Mont Blanc !" On looking through my glass, I beheld a scene that produced a thrilling impression which I cannot describe. The sudden view of this stupendous mountain, and his gigantic Alpine brethren, with the beautiful dark blue lake of Geneva reposing at their feet, amidst a richly cultivated valley, produced a strange and overpowering emotion of mingled awe, wonder, and pleasure. The eter

B

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