, 1861-01-17

/ :; "A0e a6&fK OF IA4 An0e2sV
eiuce the earliest dawn Of discovery and
conquest, O charmed bell has been sounding,
wakened by the spirits Of the mountain, the
forest and the river, Of the great Southern cou.
tinent; and tens Of thousands, 1ured by its
melody, have wandered forth from home and
friends to gaxe upon the beauties, brave the
dangers, and struggle for the reward sotempt-
ingly displayed Strange dreams of romance
filled the minds Of merchant, mariner, priest,
soldier, or adventurer. Bright argosies from
Spain fanned slowly up the rivers, with the
clangor Of martial music and the chantlngs
holy priests. The eoaquistadonts, in shining
mail, with plumcs and pennons-passed into
the forest arches to explore, conquer and die.
All a1ons the great rivers, through the forests,
In the 1owly yallies, and by the rushing noun
tain torrents the stern faith Of the early Catho-
lie fathers planted the cross, raised high the
cathedral walls and gathered into tho bosom
Of the Mother Church their thousands on
Thousands of Christian converts. The brave
and adventurous. the very flower Of Eupean
chivalIy, pressed into the unknown solitudes
in the darling search for E Dorado-wherc,
nestled amid the mountains In eternal suu-
shine, g1ittered the golden sands Of Lake Cas-
sipa, with the New Jerusalem upon its borders,
where the battlements flashed back the light
from shields Of gold; and jesfels were but
chi1dren's toys. No tale was too marrelous,
nothing too incredible If told Of E7 Dorado,
until the whole world looked towards South
America rs the repository Of Ill that WAS Won
derful or beautiful Immature, and the very incaz-
nation Of the most golden drcam.land.
Even now, SO much remains undiscovered
and uatrareFaed that the rouauce fingers On.
The youth leaves mother and sisters to sail
away and tempt Its sunny emiles, With
strange delight he first gazes on the Southern
cross suspended in It's quiet beauty in those
transparent skies. With hushed breath he lis
tens to the sailors cry Of " "land,'' aud with q
wild bounding Of the heart he sees the mighty
snow.crowncd Cordilletas rising high in the
calm mir, Us giant sentinels along the coast.
Nearing the shores, the clustering palms waye
drean1ly to the soft music Of the sea breeze,
and all the wealth Of tropical luxuriance, in
vegetation, gradually, but with overwhelming
power, fills his soul The promised land is
there, and not even the dreams Of youth have
equalled tho reality Of its splcndor. Passing
from Guayaqul to Quito, the road winds over
the several chains Of the Andes; and just as
thu traveller has toiled over ono Of these and
is descending towards the North, there opens
to his vision one Of the tmost sublime panora-
mas to be found anywhere in the world. It is
the valley Of Guaranda; aud the view selected
BY Nj. Church for his wonderful painting so
| appropriately entitled, "1Ne Heart Of The
A7des." So natural is this work in all its de-
tails, that the South American traveller, not
knowing its exact locality, inyoluntarily cx-
| ck,ims, II have been there, that view Is per-
fectly familiar"
| Its greet cliazm is perfect truth. You gaze
itself; it oren needs the glass to bring distant
objects within the range Of vision. AL the
wonderful details, the extreme care in per-
fecting every leaf md flower, each ridge in the
mountains, each distant snow peak, aud even
| the ripples in the water, hare not been gained
by the slightest sacrifice Of breadth, or dis
tancc, or general effect.
The broken flashcs flight On the right fore
] ground, whcrf the sunshine plays through the
openings in the forest, along the b7idle path,
upon the dcadened tree, with the Towering nir
| plants, whcrc sits the royal bird Of the 1ucas,
upon the wayside cross.with its knecling dcvo-
tees, the vcritable peasants Of tho land, mud off
across the rayine upon the opposite banks, the
calm, deep la};o with tho village and parish
church upon its borders, the broad fertile plain
stretching of to the very base Of the noun
taihs, those broken ascents, with the clouds
clustering about their submits, the wild gorge,
and back, back in tho far distance, those sub
lime snow peaks, the companions and peers Of
Chimborazo and Cotopaxi. Could anything
be more grand, moro beautiful or more true
Then, again, follow the stream In its will cas-
cadcs, will! the calm basin below, and the pic
turesque rush Of the waters gathering for their
last leap in the immediate foreground. How
captivating to the senses is tho left fore
ground-its cool beauty-the depth Of shade
the rare 1uzuriance Of plants and flowers-the
masscs Of clustering 1ianas-the cgumbling
banks and the projecting roots, with the dcptl
Of the rayine below.
The whole picture laughs with sunshine:
and the atmosphere seems fresh as Il. from a
passing shower. How pure is the blue aboyc
the monntains-what flood Of light, and how
tEanquiliziu5 the effect Of those everlasting
mountains-snow crowned and awful in thei1
majesty. As this work represents scenery
about seven thousand leet above the level Of
the sea, the artist has not presented us to the
tangled masses Of strictly tropical vegetation
but to more luict scene in the more inhabi.
table portions Of the continent To produce
this, Mr.. Church made two visits to South
America traycrscd the mountains and va1lies
from Guayaguit to Carthagean, braved hard.
ships and dangers, supported By his enthu.
sinsm for his art, and cheered By the visions Of
Of his coming fame. No artist, in landscape,
has ever gained so proud q position; none ever
better deserved 1t. He has painted I perfect
picture-prononnced ,by the ablest critics, in
England, to be unsurpassed-uncquallcd-
the world Of landscape art. In foreground,
middlc-grounda aud background it is faultless
or has bnt ono fault-it being so like a glow,
ng ta1c Of adventure, that it casts spell upon
the Imagination and will lead many man to
desert the scenes Of his youth: aud tempt the
hazards ofthose tropical wanderings too often
to cna in m unknown grave beueath the
shades Of equatorial forests, or in the lonely
passes Of the stern Cordillcras. :***
TIE FAnBR1 CoscsRr.--A air audience at,
tended Madame Fabbri's Concert on Monday
night, notwithstanding the inclcmency Of The
weather. 1t is With pleasure that we can an.
nounce to our readers that Madame Fabbri will
give another concert on Friday evening in
| BRYAN Hall with fu1l orchestra annronriote