SOUTH AMERICA is the quarter of the world which, at this moment, excites the deepest and most peculiar interest. The new aspect which it presents to the world, of a series of great independent states rising from the bosom of despotism, the close relations of alliance and commerce which had succeeded to the strict exclusion formerly experienced by Britain, and the studious care with which all information respecting it had been hitherto withheld from the world, all these circumstances render the information respecting it, obtained from any quarter, peculiarly welcome. The narrative of Captain Hall had introduced us in a most lively and agreeable manner, to a wide extent of the coasts of Chili, Mexico, and Peru. Several others, since published, have introduced us into the interior re

gions of the continent, particularly Colombia, which has raised itself to such a great pre-eminence of power and celebrity.

M. Mollien landed at Carthagena, which he found a very strong town, though the fortifications, in a military point of view, are too extensive, requiring 9000 men to defend them. The population, amounting to 18,000, are chiefly sailors and fishermen ; the latter of whom are chiefly persons of colour, a lively and spirited race, who carry on likewise a great contraband trade. There is a good deal of industry at Carthagena, particularly in shellwork, jewellery, and carpentry. The town looks like a cloister, the streets being narrow and dark, with projecting terraces, while the houses are only great lobbies, with a few scanty articles of

furniture, and a great deal of dirt; how ever, they are on the whole not ill-contrived with a view to coolness.

M. Mollien embarked on the Magdalena, the most valuable of the Columbian rivers, by which a communication is maintained between the coast and the fine interior provinces of Bogota and Quito. Its immediate banks, however, are very little cultivated, and form by no means the best parts of the Colombian territory. The intensity of the heat, and the rank luxuriance of vegetation, render them scarcely habitable. They present an interesting aspect to the admirers of wild and savage scenery. Trees of immense height, and thick underwood, cover the whole country; among which M. Mollien remarks the mahaguna (bombax,) with a very lofty trunk, bearing on its top a thick foliage, and containing in its fruit a woolly substance, with which the negroes stuff their pillows. In these wild tracks, however, the Spaniards have established inns, where fowls, eggs, and bread, may be obtained at a trifling expense. The voyage is full of peril and fear. Sand banks, dangerous currents, floating wood, and all things which can render a river navigation hazardous, perpetually occur. At Monpox, the first town which occurs, and where there is some trade, the days are cloudy and showery, the nights are beautifully clear and delicious. The former is spent by the inhabitants in their hammocks, and the latter in the streets, and the traveller who takes a nocturnal walk through the place, finds every door beset with merry parties, in whose gaiety he is welcome to join. On the contrary, the tenants of the solitary habitations, built amid the woods on the banks of the Magdalena, are described as poor and very unhappy, subject to five out of the ten plagues of Egypt, the putridity of the water, ulcers, reptiles, large flies, and the death of their eldest born. In fact, no seasoning to

the climate seems to prevent its pestilential effects; few old people are seen, and the young labour under numerous diseases. Our traveller describes himself, in his voyage up the Magdalena, as never enjoying a moment's repose; mosquitoes, flies, and venomous insects of every description, were continually darting their stings into him; if he bathed, he was in danger from the cayman; if he went on shore, he was exposed to the bites of serpents.

M. Mollien landed at Honda, a town surrounded by fine meadows, and began to ascend a branch of the Cordilleras, which he found of terrific steepness, and where he was occasionally enveloped in clouds of damp fog, that involved him in complete darkness. On the other side, after passing the neat village of Graduas, he found himself on the plateau of Bogota, which presented a scene almost European; shepherds driving their flocks, husbandmen tracing furrows, and files of mules, and oxen laden with grain, coals, and fruits. This plateau, elevated above the sea more than 8000 feet, that is, double the height of the highest mountains in Britain, presents still a more luxuriant vegetation than that of Europe, and is by this extraordinary height only rendered habitable and temperate. From its ele vation, extent, and prodigious fertility, it is said to surpass what the most vivid imagination can conceive of the beautiful.

St Fe de Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is situated in the midst of this pla teau, between two high mountains, by which the climate is rendered almost cold. From April to December, is said to be continued rain; from June to August, showery; the three other months uncertain. The houses in general are low, and built without any regularity; the walls heavy and thick; the roofs often intersected with beams, and everything in short presenting the aspect of European architecture three hundred years

A more elegant taste is beginning to be introduced. The president's palace is little superior to the others; it has neither hall nor anti-chamber, and persons soliciting audience are obliged to wait on the stair-case till they obtain admittance. The great display of splendour is in the churches. The architecture of some, especially of the great cathedral, is tolerable; but their magnificence rests chiefly in the profasion of gold and diamonds which adorn the interior. One statue of the Virgin alone, is said to be adorned with 1358 diamonds, 1295 emeralds, 59 amethysts, one topaz, one hyacinth, and 372 pearls. There are nine monasteries and three nunneries, some of which support pretty extensive hos pitals. Bogota has a theatre, mint, prisons, and most of the establishments which characterize European towns, but in a clumsier and more imperfect form. There are three colleges, to which a good deal of attention is paid. The professors are almost all churchmen, and the course of study consists in Latin, philosophy, mathematics, and theology. The place does not contain, it is said, ten merchants, with a capital of 100,000 piastres, nor five individuals, living upon a revenue of equal amount. The most common incomes are from 5 to 10,000 piastres. The business is carried on almost entirely in shops, crowded, dirty, and dark, where light is admitted only by the door. Seated upon his counter, smoking incessantly, and giving laconic answers to his customers, the Colombian merchant in many respects resembles those of Smyrna and Aleppo. The amusements consist of balls, occasional visits to the theatre, but more frequently cock and ball fights; and we are sorry to find games of chance, at which they will sometimes bet so high as 10,000 piastres. To this head may probably be referred the religious shows and processions, the most splendid of which is

VOL. XVII. PART I.

that of Corpus Christi day. On that occasion, David, Mordecai, Joseph, and other leading personages of the Old Testament, are seated in chariots, and drawn along by the inhabitants. They are represented by the children of the principal citizens, lavishly adorned with pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all the finery that their parents can collect. The inhabitants are described, on the whole, as mild, polite, and cheerful; and though morals are more relaxed than in smaller towns, great crimes are not common.

The markets of Bogota are supplied with a profusion of fruits and vegeta bles, in remarkable variety. Those of America and Europe may here be seen mingling together; on one side are hampers full of strawberries, on the other, ananas, aguacates, peaches, and apples; near heaps of cabbages, carrots, and potatoes, are guavas and bananas; and among sacks of maize, barley, and corn, are piles of cocoa and loaf-sugar; in one place are sold numerous healing herbs, gathered by the Indians in the Paramos; in another, pinks, roses, and jessamine. As soon as you leave the precincts of the town, all trace of civilization vanishes, and M. Mollien could see no distinction from the wildest parts of Africa.

According to the account of this writer, the Colombians were conducted to independence insensibly, and almost without design. It was in consequence of Buonaparte's usurpation, that Ferdinand VII., in 1810, was proclaimed King of Cundimarca, the ancient name of New Granada. As soon, however, as the natives found themselves enrolled under American standards, commanded by American chiefs, they refused again to place themselves under the yoke of European Spaniards. As the latter, however, were supported by the governments at home, even those of the most liberal professions, and had all the regular troops that were in America

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under their command, they continued for some time masters of the field. Narino, the first leader of insurrection, after some temporary successes, was defeated and taken prisoner. To him Bolivar succeeded; and though M. Mollien shows a disposition to depreciate the merit of that illustrious founder of American independence, he cannot conceal the mighty obstacles against which ne struggled. Repeatedly routed, his army dispersed, and himself reduced to the condition of a solitary fugitive, he again collected forces, and appeared soon as formidable as before. He is admitted to have possessed an extraordinary talent in animating the spirit of his troops. "They but little understand the terms Liberty and Independence, but they were sensible of marks of distinction, which Bolivar judiciously created and distributed. Though his troops possessed no discipline or military experience, yet, as hunters, and living in a state of nature, they possessed already many of the most important qualities of good soldiers. They were proof against cold, heat, hunger, fatigue; they made immense marches barefoot, and subsisting on a banana; · and though everything abound ed in the camp of the Spaniards, and everything was wanting in that of the Americans, the desertions from the latter to the former were very few." Bolivar disconcerted his enemies by the rapidity of his marches, by the suddenness of his attacks, and by the celerity of his flights. European soldiers, accustomed to ease and indulgence, soon melted away in pursuing their adversaries through the swamps, rasks, and marshes of the Maddalena, the Apure, and the Oronooko. At length, by dint of being often beaten, the Americans learnt to beat the Spaniards. Morillo grew sick of the business, and, having patched up an armistice, returned to Spain; and we have seen Bolivar not only finally eject the adherents of the

other country from the vast precincts of Colombia, but end with securing the triumph of the American cause in the fine regions of Peru, where it had found its last refuge.

Among the adherents of Bolivar, the most remarkable is Paez, whose impetuous and headlong valour has often decided victory. "A khan of Tartars, an Arabian schieah, has given the rudest shocks to the Spanish power in America. The mulatto Paez, at the head of a few thousand of his savage lancers, has often defeated whole squadrons of disciplined troops. Paez affects great luxury, and particular politeness; yet, notwithstanding the vanity natural to a savage, he lives upon terms of perfect equality with his troops; when he is with them, their food, their games, their exercises, are his own. No one rides a horse better than he, or wields a lance with more dexterity, or attacks an enemy with more fury. He thus possesses absolute power over his undisciplined hordes, who, tractable towards a leader that sets them an example of courage, obey him with the submission of slaves. His fortune has been considerably augmented by numerous gifts." Montilla is another mulatto, originally a pilot of Carthagena, who distinguished himself in the maritime contest. His colour combines with other circumstances, in rendering him a rival of Montilla, once a member of the body-guards of Spain, and a person of considerable polish and address. Sucre, Urdaneta, and Bermu dez, are all brave men, without any very distinguishing peculiarities, while Santander, from his political wisdom and firmness, has been judged worthy of the Vice-presidency.

M.Mollien, with that prejudice which we have remarked, will scarcely allow merit to Bolivar, for having abdicated the dictatorship as soon as his services in that capacity were no longer necessary, and having assisted in giving a free constitution to Colombia.

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