beyond the ranges of mountains, in the more central parts of South
America. There are none west of the Andes.

The table lands complete the sublime varieties of the scenery. Their
serenity enchants, as the grandeur of the mountains that rise above them
exalts the mind. The works of nature are not only adapted to human need
with Omniscient skill, as these fertile lands among the sterner
mountains prove; but, feelings different, yet harmonious, are excited by
the combinations of Infinite Power. The emotion of awe, being one of
great concentration, becomes even painful, if the tension of the mind be
too long sustained; and so He who tempers the ineffable splendor of His
immediate presence even to the gaze of angels, with the rainbow of
emerald about his throne, with the sea of crystal, the tree of life, or
the gates of precious stones, also soothes the sublimity of mountains
with gentle traits of scenery and soft gradations of color which give
enjoyment more passive than awe, and rather captivate than overpower the
eye and soul.

From the table lands can often be seen in the distance snow-covered tops
of mountains, projected in bold, white outlines against the deep-blue
sky; and there the sky is really blue, not of that pale tinge that often
passes for it, but of a deeper blue than even the rich October sky of
North America. As if joining the sky, are the shining summits of the
mountains. The two ethereal colors, blue and white, thus meet in
dazzling harmony. Sometimes so many of these white, towering heights can
be seen, and in so different quarters, that one may almost fancy the sky
itself to be a vast dome of sapphire supported by gigantic pillars of
marble.

Most of the cities, villages, and farms are on these table lands. Often,
for the sake of the grand view, a villa is built on a steep ridge,
within sight of the broad, undulating surface of some plateau; or, in
some position of peerless beauty, the glittering cross on some convent
may be seen. The Spanish race appreciate the picturesque, as is shown by
their choice of sites, not only in Spain, but in Spanish America. The
poetical, imaginative character which has marked Spanish annals for
centuries, still marks those who have any claim to Spanish descent. The
South American, though half an Indian, recognizes the grandeur of his
native mountains, and the beauty of the broad, fertile valleys, while a
thorough-going Anglo-Saxon of North America, in the same places,