Holy Book has been the record of too many families on this earth, written upon its few blank pages, to allow it to be ever subject to neglect or contempt among the children of the departed. "The memory of the dead has passed into it. The potent traditions of childhood are stereotyped in its verses. The power of all the griefs and trials of a man is hidden beneath its words. It is the companion and the consecration of his best moments; and all that there has ever been about him of the gentle, the pure, the penitent, and the good, speaks to him out of his Bible." *

Precious, beyond all measurement precious is the Bible! No age of time will outgrow it in this world; no antiquity will take the freshness from its leaves, or the sacred power from its lessons. The barbarous dialects of savage island-tribes have been reduced to regular written language, that the Bible may be translated into the tongue in which each man and woman is born. Those holy oracles will echo on their solemn counsels through centuries wrapped now in the dim shades of the distant future. The Bible will go with man, or it will follow him, wherever the shifting scenes of civilization, sin, and sorrow appear on the earth, to be his light, his law, and his hope. The aged will cherish it as the solace of their declining days. The young will learn from it that remembrance of God which shall gird and guide them in their perilous way. The mature in middle life, with the weight of the world upon them and its aims before them, will turn from the Bible, and will turn to it again; will wonder over it, and doubt, and then believe, to hesitate and marvel and trust it again. Precious, but amazing volume! The ark in the flood of ages! The bow of promise in a stormy sky! The seven-sealed book of seven-fold mystery, with vials and plagues flashing through its covenant of mercy! Blessed Book! mingled of heaven and of earth; containing words from the Holiest to the sinful! Built upon Prophets and Apostles, Jesus Christ himself being its chief cornerstone. Through that Book shines the only beam of light, as from the open door of heaven, upon the heart of man, upon the home of man, upon the life of man, or upon his grave.

G. E. E.

* Quoted memoriter from Father Faber's Lives of the Saints.

ART. II. THE VALLEY OF THE AMAZON.*

THE Social and political condition of the South American states has long been an object of interest to this government. Passing through an historical experience in some respects resembling our own, they have cast off all -allegiance as European colonies; and though they have not been altogether successful in establishing law and order on a firm basis, they have steadfastly maintained their independence. At the same time, our commercial relations with them have always been more or less intimate, and have greatly multiplied within the present generation. With the growth and advancement of our power upon the Pacific shore, these relations must still further increase in magnitude and importance; and the advantages to be derived from the possession of accurate information in regard to these countries will constantly become more obvious. It was with the view of enlarging our knowledge on all those points which affect their material interests, and in accordance with the wise and far-sighted policy which has for many years guided the administration of the two Departments of War and Navy, that Lieutenant Herndon was detached from the Pacific Squadron, and directed to undertake a thorough exploration of the valley of the Amazon. "The government desires," said Secretary Graham in his letter of instructions, "to be put in possession of certain information relating to the valley of the river Amazon, in which term is included the entire basin, or water-shed, drained by that river and its tributaries." And "this desire," it was added, "extends not only to the present condition of that valley with regard to the navigability of its streams; to the number and condition, both industrial and social, of its inhabitants, their trade and products; its climate, soil, and productions; but also to its capacities for cultivation, and to the character and extent of

32d Congress, 2d Session. Senate. Executive, No. 36.- Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, made under Direction of the Navy Department. By WM. LEWIS HERNDON and LARDNER GIBBON, Lieutenants United States Navy. Part I. By LIEUT. HERNDON. [With Plates and a separate Volume of Maps.] Washington: Robert Armstrong, Public Printer. 1853. 8vo. pp. 414.

its undeveloped commercial resources, whether of the field, the forest, the river, or the mine."

In pursuance of these instructions, Mr. Herndon, after making various preliminary inquiries in regard to the best route, started from Lima, on the 21st of May, 1851, accompanied by Passed Midshipman Gibbon, designated by the Navy Department to assist him in the exploration, a young man named Richards from one of the American ships of war in Callao, a young Peruvian to act as interpreter, and a muleteer. Their equipment was of the simplest character, comprising only those things necessary for the success of the expedition, such as cloth, hatchets, looking-glasses, and cheap trinkets for trading with the Indians, provisions, and a few other articles.

"Our bedding," says Mr. Herndon, "consisted of the saddlecloths, a stout blanket, and anything else that could be packed in the India-rubber bag. An Englishman from New Holland, whom I met in Lima, gave me a coverlet made of the skins of a kind of raccoon, which served me many a good turn; and often, when in the Cordillera I wrapped myself in its warm folds, I felt a thrill of gratitude for the thoughtful kindness which had provided me with such a comfort. We purchased thick flannel shirts, ponchos, of India-rubber, wool, and cotton, and had straw-hats covered with oil-cloth, and fitted with green veils, to protect our eyes from the painful affections which often occur by the sudden bursting out of the sunlight upon the masses of snow that lie for ever upon the mountain-tops.

"We carried two small kegs, one containing brandy, for drinking, and the other, the common rum of the country, called Ron de Quemar, for burning; also, some coarse knives, forks, spoons, tin cups and plates. I did not carry, as I should have done, a few cases of preserved meat, sardines, cheese, &c., which would have given us a much more agreeable meal than we often got on the road; but I did carry, in the India-rubber bags, quite a large quantity of biscuit, which I had baked in Lima, which served a very good purpose, and lasted us to Tar

ma.

". . . . Our guns, in leathern cases, were slung to the crupper, and the pistols carried in holsters, made with large pockets, to carry powder-flasks, percussion caps, specimens that we might pick up on the road, &c. A small box of instruments for skinning birds and dissecting animals; a medicine-chest, containing, among other things, some arsenical soap for preserving

* Page 24.

skins; a few reams of coarse paper for drying leaves and plants; chart-paper, in a tin case; passports and other papers, also in a tin case; note-books, pencils, &c., completed our outfit. A chest was made with compartments for the sextant, artificial horizon, boiling-point apparatus, camera lucida, and spyglass. The chronometer was carried in the pocket, and the barometer, slung in a leathern case made for it, at the saddlebow of Mr. Gibbon's mule." - pp. 40, 41.

Proceeding leisurely back from the coast, our travellers crossed the Andes, on the 2d of June, at a height of sixteen thousand feet, and, continuing across the eastern chain, reached Tarma on the 6th of the same month, where they remained for several days. Here Mr. Herndon, judging that the objects of his undertaking could be better accomplished by dividing his small party, gave Mr. Gibbon instructions to proceed in a southeasterly direction with Mr. Richards, and examine the branches. of the Amazon which have their head-waters to the south and east of Cuzco.* The route which he determined to follow in person, with Don Manuel Ijurra, the young Peruvian before referred to, lay in a northerly direction up the river Huallaga to the Amazon.

Tarma is beautifully situated on the eastern slopes of the Andes, in the centre of a great mining district, and is a place of considerable importance, containing seven thousand inhabitants. The houses are built of unburnt bricks, with floors of gypsum, and are roofed with tiles. Some of them are "partially papered, and carpeted with common Scotch carpeting. Most of them have patios, or inclosed squares, within, and some of them flat roofs, with a parapet around them, where maize, peas, beans, and such things, are placed in the sun to dry."† The climate is represented as being very healthful, and the physician has not sufficient practice for his support without aid from the government. As in most South American towns, the people are very fond of religious festivals, and seek every opportunity of gratifying this taste. The priests are generally of low standing, and

* We shall look with much interest for the supplementary report, containing an account of the explorations of Mr. Gibbon, as it will doubtless throw considerable new light on the condition and resources of this part of South America.

+ Page 71.

are spoken of with great contempt by the educated classes; but Mr. Herndon thinks the missionaries and monks are of a better character, and on several occasions he speaks of them with great respect. The market is tolerably good, and provisions are sold at a low price; but our author was not able to obtain much information in regard to the agriculture of this part of Peru. He, however, gives a brief account of one farm which he visited. He says:

"We rode about a league down the valley which leads to Chanchamayo, to the farm of General Otero, to whom we brought letters from Mr. Prevost, and Pasquel, Bishop of Eretrea. We found this farm a different sort of an affair from anything we had hitherto seen in this way in our travels. This is in a high state of cultivation, well inclosed with mud walls, and in beautiful order. The General-a good-looking, farmer-like old gentleman-met us with great cordiality, and showed us over the premises. He has a very large house, with all the necessary offices attached, which he built himself. Indeed, he said he had made the farm; for when he purchased it, it was a stony and desolate place, and he had expended much time, labor, and money on it. There were two gardens; one for vegetables and fruit, and one for flowers. They were both in fine order. The fruits were peaches of various kinds, apples, strawberries, almonds, and some few grapes. The flowers were principally roses, pinks, pansies, jessamines, and geraniums. There were a few exotics, under bell-glasses. flowers were of rather indifferent quality, but much better than Both fruit and one would expect to see in so elevated and cold a situation. The nights here, particularly in the early morning, are quite cold.

"This is the harvest season, and the General was gathering his crop of maize. About twenty peons or laborers were bringit in from the fields, and throwing it down in piles in a large court-yard, while boys and women were engaged in shucking it. In one corner of the square, under a snug to one of the barns, with stone seats around it, sat the General's little shed attached three daughters, sewing, and probably superintending the 'shucking.' They were fair, sweet-looking girls. The General had a tray of glasses, with some Italia (a cordial made of a Muscatel grape that grows in the province of Ica, and hence called Ica brandy) and paper cigars, brought out for us; and the whole concern had a home look that was quite pleasing." — pp. 74, 75.

Previously to dividing his party and taking final leave of Tarma, Mr. Herndon made a short excursion to Fort