heel of the tender went over it. He had no one with him who could
manage the engine alone, so he was obliged to get up again, and
endeavour to struggle on to Talca; but after going a few miles
further, the engine suddenly ran off the track, at a part of the
unfinished line that had not yet been sufficiently ballasted. They
could not get it on again unaided, and one of the men had to start off
and walk many miles before he could procure assistance. Altogether,
poor Clarke underwent forty-two hours of intense agony from the time
of the accident until he received any medical attention. In spite of
this he is now doing well; and though the foot, which is in a bath of
carbolic acid and water, looks very bad, he is in great spirits,
because the three local doctors, in consultation, have decided that
amputation will not be necessary. He spoke in the highest terms of the
kindness of our French host and his Spanish wife, the latter of whom,
he says, has nursed him like a mother. He certainly has the one large
room in the house, and when I saw him his bed was comfortably made and
arranged, flowers and fruit were on a table by his side, and
everything looked as neat and snug as possible. It was a treat to him
to see some one fresh from the old country, and to hear all the news,
and our voyage appeared to interest him greatly. While I was with him
one of his friends came in, who remembered me quite well, and who knew
one or two people with whom we are acquainted, including the manager
of Messrs. Bowdler and Chaffers' yard, where the 'Sunbeam' was built.

[Illustration: A Fellow Passenger]

_Sunday, October 22nd_.--Though it was Sunday, we had no choice but to
travel on, or we should not have been able to start until Tuesday. We
were therefore up at five o'clock, and at the station before seven.
From San Carlos, where we arrived at 8.15 a.m., we started for
Linares, which was reached a couple of hours later. It is a much
smaller town than Chilian, but is built on exactly the same
plan--Plaza, cathedral, and all. To-day the streets were crowded with
men on horseback, who had brought their wives in, seated
pillion-fashion on the crupper behind them, to attend mass.

Our road lay through a rich country, intersected by small rivers; with
the distant snowy chain of the Andes as a background, and through
thickly planted groves of poplars, growing in long shady avenues,
fragrant with perfume from the magnificent roses which blossomed
be