he processes very clearly. He could tell at once, on taking up a
piece of rough ore, fresh from the mine, what percentage of copper or
iron it contained, the amount varying from ten to seventy-five per
cent, of the gross weight. The furnaces are kept burning night and
day, and are worked by three gangs of men; and the quantity of copper
produced annually is enormous. In fact, three parts of the copper used
in Europe comes from here. The ore is brought from various parts of
Chili and Peru, generally in Madame Cousino's ships; and coal is found
in such abundance, and so near the surface, that the operation of
smelting is a profitable one. Our afternoon, spent amid smoke, and
heat, and dirt, and half-naked workmen, manipulating with dexterous
skill the glowing streams of molten ore, was a great contrast to our
morning ramble.

Having seen the works, and received a curious and interesting
collection of copper ore, as a remembrance of our visit, we started in
a little car, lined with crimson cloth, and drawn by a locomotive, to
visit the various coal-mines. First we went through the park, and then
along a valley near the sea, full of wild flowers and ferns, and trees
festooned with 'copigue,' the Chilian name for a creeper which is a
speciality of this country, and which imparts a character of its own
to the landscape during the month of May, when its wreaths of
scarlet, cherry, or pink flowers are in full bloom. We went to the
mouths of three coal-pits, and looked down into their grimy depths,
but did not descend, as it would have occupied too much time. They are
mostly about 1,000 yards in depth, and extend for some distance under
the sea.

We next visited a point of land whence we could see an island which
closely resembles St. Michael's Mount. It is quite uninhabited, except
by a few wild goats and rabbits. The sea-shore is lined with trees to
the water's edge, and there are many bold rocks and fine white sandy
caves in different parts of it. Some boats were drawn up high and dry
on the beach, along which several picturesque-looking groups of
shell-fish collectors were scattered. The mussels that are found here
are enormous--from five to eight inches in length--and they, together
with cockles and limpets, form a staple article of food.

A steam-launch had been sent to meet us, but it could not get near
enough to the shore for us to embark. A rickety, leaky small boat,
half full of water, was therefore, after some dela