on, are unfortunately too well known; from drunkenness follows want, from want sickness, so that in this country as well as every other, the man who will spend his earnings in the public house, must answer for the crime of destroy. ing his health, endangering his life, and bring.. ing his family to starvation and distress. Nor is there any thing more surprising, than how a fa. ther can lay down upon the counter of the public house, for a glass of liquor, what would buy bread for his hungry children at home:-of what avail are all that man's weekly earnings, if they are to be thrown away upon drink for Saturday night, or what is worse, for the Sab. bath day, thus commitling two faults at once, mispending his time and wasting his money.

Whilst Philips remained at Quito, he had an opportunity of getting some information upon the method which has been adopted for estab. lishing a communication across the country, between the provinces which lie on the east and those on the western coasts of America.

The

great chain of mountains which separates them, rendering it impossible to carry on an intercourse by land carriage, a post has been established, which is conveyed by an' Indian, who pursues his way, not in a mail coach, or by riding, or even on foot, as we might suppose, but by swimming down the river, which he does for two days together. Having wrapped the few letters of which he is the bearer in a kind of handkerchief, he winds

it like a turban round his head, and sets out of his course. In order to lessen his fatigue in swimming, he supports himself on a small log of very light wood, which floats him swiftly down with the current, and when a ridge of rocks obstructs his way, he lands, crosses the forest, and takes again to the water, when he has passed the danger. He carries no provi sions with him, for he is a welcome guest in the huts, which are numerous all along the banks of the river.

Arrived at his destination, he delivers up his charge, rests himself for a few days, and then sets out on his return; but this he is obliged to do by land, because the current of the rivers would be against him. It is also worthy of remaik, that so trust-worthy are these poor creatures, that letters are hardly ever lost, or even wet, in their passage along the rivers.

The ground on which Quito is built, is very irregular; and so numerous are the crevices or cracks in the side of the mountain on which it is situated, that many of the houses are raised on arches. It is very populous, containing above 70,000 inhabitants, some of whom are the des endants of those Spaniards who, soon after the discovery of America by Columbus, in 1492, conquered this country, under Francis Pizarro.

The four streets which are at the angles of the great square, are very handsome and well

F

the sea,

paved; the rest of the town, however, is so uneven, as to prevent the inhabitants from mak. ing use of wheel-carriages. The houses of the wealthy are large, yet never above one story in height, though they are seldom without a bal. cony towards the street. The most surprising circumstance connected with Quito is, that it lies nearly 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the Peak of Javirack rises close to the town 700 feet higher ;-(the highest inhabited ground in Great Britain is only two thousand feet above and is found to be intolerably cold for a residence.) So much, however, is temperature affected by latitude, that notwithstanding the great height of Quito, which is near the middle of the earth, neither heat or cold are felt in extreme, though both may be experienced by going a short journey either up or down the contigu ous chain of mountains. Philips did not stop there long enough to ascertain it, but he was informed that the whole year is a perfect spring, and the fertility of the ground such, that corn is sowed in one field, and reaped in another, at the same time; whilst a constant succession of fruits, flowers, and leaves, appears the whole year round, and even on the same tree. Beef and mutton are excellent ;-cheese and butter are also good, and, in short, whether in luxu ries or necessaries nothing appears wanting,

Though the climate, however, is good, the people living at such a stupendous height above

the sea, are subject to frequent tempests of rain. The whole morning, and generally till two o'clock, the sky is serene, but afterwards it frequently begins to rain in such torrents, that in a short time, the streets appear like rivers; and the squares, though situated on a slope, resemble a lake. This discharge of rain generally continues till near sun-set, when the weather clears up, and nature appears as beautiful as in the morning; sometimes, indeed, the rains have been known to continue four days successively, and on the contrary, three or four days of fine weather sometimes succeed each other.The city, however, is hourly liable to earth. quakes, one of which, in the year 1797, in the space of a few seconds, hurried 40,000 persons into eternity. To dwell in constant apprehension of such a melancholy visitation, Philips thought must take away all comfort from life, and yet his own observation fully corroborated what he had before heard at Cumana ;-that notwithstanding the anxiety they must feel, the inhabitants are gay, lively, and much addicted to pleasure.

But Philips' astonishment at finding such high ground habitable, was increased when he remembered, that parts of Africa which lie in the same parallel of latitude, across the Atlantic ocean, are so intensely hot as to have parched up the ground, and rendered it unable to support vegetation. In the Swiss Alps also, which

are the highest of our European mountains,
those of them which are at the same height as
Quito, are covered with continual soow, and
are quite uninhabitable.
I should be sorry,

thought Philips, to live on the top of the hill of
Howth, which is only a few hundred feet above
the level of the sea; how insupportable then-
should I have thought it to reside so many thou-
sand times higher; it is doubtless, however,
owing to the low latitude in which it lies, so
near the middle and the hottest parts of the earth
which tempers the cold, and renders it one of
the most delightful spots in the world, if it was
not for the earthquakes.

Of all the volcanic mountains which may be seen from Quito, Cotopaxi is the most noted, and well deserved a visit which Philips made to it. It lies south-east from Quito, about thirtysix miles from that city; its form is that of a perfect sugar-loaf, rising 9000 feet above the level of Quito, covered with snow, which shines with the most dazzling whiteness, when the sun's rays fall upon it. The opening of the volcano appears surrounded by a black wall, which to our traveller's great mortification he found it impossible to reach, by reason of the immense crèvices in the side of the moun. tain.

Cotopaxi is nearly three miles above the level of the sea, and at times has thrown out such huge pieces of rock on the plain below, that

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