scale. The whole country
is one continuous forest, which, beginning at very different
heights, presents an undulating aspect. One moves on his way with
trees before, above, and beneath him, in a deep abyss like the
ocean. And in these woods, as on the immensity of the waters,
the mind is bewildered; whatever way it directs the eye there it
meets the majesty of the Infinite. The marvels of Nature are in
these regions so common that one becomes accustomed to behold,
without emotion, trees whose tops exceed the height of 100 varas
(290 English feet), with a proportionate thickness, beyond the
belief of such as never saw them; and, supporting on their trunks
a hundred different plants, they, individually, present rather
the appearance of a small plantation than one great tree. It
is only after you leave the woods, and ordinary objects of
comparison present themselves to the mind, that you can realize
in thought the colossal stature of these samples of Montana
vegetation."

Peru is a fitting theatre for the great dramas which have been
played upon its wild, mountainous stage. The dark background of
its past is haunted by the shadows of the unknown race who built
its ruined cities and temples. Then come the beneficent, heavenly
Incas, and the mild, pastoral people over whom they rule. Last,
the cruel, treacherous Spaniard, slaughtering his friendly hosts
with one hand, while the other holds the Bible to their lips!

_THE OLD MAID'S VILLAGE._

I had been passing the summer on the banks of the Hudson--in
that charmed region which lies about what was once the home
of Diedrich Knickerbocker, with the enchanted ground of Sleepy
Hollow on the one hand, and the shrine of Sunnyside on the other.
In many happy morning walks and peaceful twilight rambles, I had
made the acquaintance of every winding lane, every shaded avenue,
every bosky dell and sunny glade for miles around. I had wandered
hither and thither, through all the golden season, and fairly
steeped my soul in the beauty, the languor, the poetry of the
"Irving country;" and now, filled, as it were, with rare wine,
content and happy, I was ready to return to the town, and take up
the matter-of-fact habit of life again.

But even on the last day of my sojourn, when my trunks stood
packed and corded, and the loins of my spirit were girt for
departure on the morrow; as I stood at my window somewhat
pensively contemplating, for the last time, the peculiarly
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