igh, steep, and rocky. The
whole country is extremely rich in metals: silver is there found
nearer the surface than in any other country. Nearly all the rivers
wash down gold and there are copper, lead, and even _coal_ mines.
The Chilians are good potters, and make light, strong, earthenware
jars, which ring like metal. Chili is _specially_ subject to
earthquakes; shocks are felt in some parts almost daily, and the
country is continually desolated by them."

MR. WILTON. "The little island of Mocha on this coast was once
celebrated as a resort of buccaneers, and thickly peopled; but it
was found deserted by Captain Strong in 1690; and appears to have
remained uninhabited since."

EMMA. "The most memorable island near our course is Juan Fernandez,
110 miles from the coast. I ought rather to have said islands, for
there are two. The largest was discovered by a Spaniard in 1563, and
has been so much praised by early navigators, that it has been
thought an earthly paradise. Its chief advantages arises from its
being a good resting-place for ships. This island is called
Mas-a-terra, because nearest the continent. There are many Spanish
settlers there, who have erected a battery, and built a town. The
smaller island is generally called Mas-a-fuero, because further from
the continent."

MR. WILTON. "Juan Fernandez has lately been taken on lease from the
Chilian Government, by an enterprising American, who has taken
thither about 150 families of Tahitians, with the intention of
cultivating the land, rearing cattle, and so improving the port of
Cumberland Bay, that it may become the resort of whalers, and other
vessels navigating the Pacific Ocean."

CHARLES. "Oh! for the imagination of Daniel de Foe to conjure up the
delightful pictures of his Robinson Crusoe. The poet Cowper has done
much towards handing the event down to posterity, in his touching
account of the feelings of the poor outcast when he found himself on
the desolate shore."

GEORGE. "Oh! you mean Alexander Selkirk's soliloquy. I think I can
remember some of the verses:--

"' I am out of humanity's reach,
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech,
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts that roam over the plain
My form with indifference bee;
They're so unaccustomed to man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.'

"'Religion I what treasure untold
Resides in that heavenly word!
More precious than silver or