and at the same time of grandeur, that shows well amidst a war of the elements. Down in a steep barranca, encircled by basaltic clifls, it lies; a mighty pile of building, which seems as if it might have been constructed by some philosophical giant or necromancer;—so that one is not prepared to find there an English director and his wife, and the unpoetic comforts of roast mutton and potatoes!
All is on a gigantic scale; the immense vaulted store-houses for the silver ore, the great smelting-furnaces and covered buildings where we saw the process of amalgamation going on; the water-wheels, in short, all the necessary machinery for the smelting and amalgamation of the metal. We walked to see the great cascade, with its rows of basaltic columns, and found a seat on a piece of broken pillar beside the rushing river, where we had a fine view of the lofty cliffs, covered with the wildest and most luxuriant vegetation; vines trailing themselves over every broken shaft; moss creeping over the huge disjointed masses of rock, and trees overhanging the precipitous ravine. The columns look as if they might have been the work of those who, on the plains of Shinar, began to build the city, and the tower whose top was to reach to heaven.
But, as we sat here, the sky suddenly became overcast; great black masses of cloud collected over our heads, and the rumbling of thunder in the distance gave notice of an approaching storm. We had scarcely time to get under shelter of the director's roof, when the thunder began to echo loudly amongst the rocks, and was speedily followed by
