y, procured, and in
this we were sculled out, two by two, till the whole party were safely
on board. Outside there was quite a swell, and a north wind and rain
are prophesied for to-morrow. Mr. Mackay returned with us to the
yacht, and stayed to dinner. Before he left, the prognostications of
bad weather were to some extent justified; for the wind changed, and
rain, the first we have felt for some time, began to fall.

_Thursday, October 19th_.--We have been persuaded by our friends here
to try and see a little more of the interior of Chili than we should
do if we were to carry out our original intention of going on to
Valparaiso in the yacht, and then merely making an excursion to
Santiago from that place. We have therefore arranged to proceed at
once overland to Santiago, by a route which will enable us to see
something of the Cordillera of the Andes, to have a peep at the
Araucanian Indians on the frontier, and to visit the baths of
Cauquenes. Tom, however, does not like to leave the yacht, and has
decided to take her up to Valparaiso, and then come on to Santiago and
meet us, in about five or six days' time. The anchor was accordingly
hove short, and the mizen hoisted, when we landed this morning, in a
drenching rain.

A coach runs daily from Lota to Concepcion, the first stage of our
journey, but a special vehicle was engaged for our accommodation, and
a curious affair it was to look at. It seemed to be simply a huge
wooden box, suspended, by means of thick leather straps, from C
springs, without windows or doors, but provided with two long, narrow
openings, through which you squeezed yourself in or out, and which
could be closed at pleasure by roll-up leather blinds. Inside, it was
roomy, well-padded, and comfortable.

The rain had made the road terribly greasy, and several times the
carriage slewed half-way round and slid four or five feet sideways
down the hill, causing us to hold on, in expectation of a spill. At
last we reached the bottom in safety, and, crossing a small river,
emerged upon the sea-shore at Playa Negra, or Black Beach, along which
we drove for some distance through the deep, loose sand, the horses
being up to their fetlocks in water most of the time. Then we forded
another little river, and, leaving the beach, proceeded up a steep
road, not more than three yards wide, with a ditch on one side and a
steep precipice on the other, to the little village of Coronel,
overlooking the bay of the s