, are caught in abundance. Most of the corvinas and bonitos
are carried to market. The flesh of the latter is firm, dry, and less
savory than the corvina. The _Pexe-rey_ (king-fish) is superior in
flavor to the _Pexe-sapo_ (toad-fish), which is a little larger, and has
a thick, fleshy head. These fish are taken on rocks and under water,
where they are struck by a kind of harpoon hooks and drawn out.

When, on board the "Edmond," I first saw the towers of Lima gilded by
the beams of the setting sun, and the chains of hills behind, rising by
gradations, until in the farthest background they blended with the
cloud-capped Cordilleras, I felt an inexpressible desire to advance
towards those regions, that I might breathe the air of the Andes, and
there behold nature under her wildest aspect. But these wishes were
vain, and I was compelled to turn again to the desolate ocean; for it
was understood that our further voyage must be towards the north, and
from there that we should proceed to the coast of Asia. I did not then
foresee that my longing might be fulfilled, and that so much of
enjoyment, together with so much toil and danger, awaited me in the
mountainous regions of Peru.

Notwithstanding the insecurity of the road to Lima I resolved to proceed
thither. Carriages and horses were not to be procured in Callao, for the
latter were all either seized for the service of the government or
concealed. I could therefore travel only on foot. Don Manuel de la
Guarda, the commander of the fortress, observed, whilst giving me a
passport, that he would advise me to use speed, and to get as soon as
possible out of the range of the guns, for he expected every moment to
be obliged to order the firing to commence. I did not neglect to follow
his advice. However I had not got more than a hundred paces from the
castle when the artillery began to play, and balls fell around on every
side. I quickened my pace, and soon got near some fences, where men were
firing with muskets. There I was seized by some Chilian cuirassiers, who
sent me forward from post to post, until at last in one of the posts I
met with an officer with whom I had been acquainted in Chile. When I was
dining one day on board the corvette Confederacion in the bay of
Valparaiso, the young officer whom I have just alluded to sat next me.
The conversation happening to turn on phrenology, he insisted on my
examining his head, and pronouncing a phrenological diagnosis on it.
Thoug