. The land of Bolivar; or, War, peace, and adventure in the Republic of Venezuela . : See what I am to-day, whilst thebeautiful tree is the very same as when I saw it sixtyyears ago ; not one of its great boughs is bent; itlooks exactly as it did when I saw it with Bonpland,when we were young, strong, and full of happiness,and when our fond enthusiasm added beauty to ourmost serious studies. Much of the land we passed, for miles on each sideof the road, was grov\Ti over with shrubs and denseundergrowth. Though rich and eminently suitablefor the cultivation of coffee, cacao, sugar, cotton,tobac
. The land of Bolivar; or, War, peace, and adventure in the Republic of Venezuela . : See what I am to-day, whilst thebeautiful tree is the very same as when I saw it sixtyyears ago ; not one of its great boughs is bent; itlooks exactly as it did when I saw it with Bonpland,when we were young, strong, and full of happiness,and when our fond enthusiasm added beauty to ourmost serious studies. Much of the land we passed, for miles on each sideof the road, was grov\Ti over with shrubs and denseundergrowth. Though rich and eminently suitablefor the cultivation of coffee, cacao, sugar, cotton,tobacco, and the cereals of the country, whole tractslay in a perfect state of abandonment. 158 THE LAND OF BOLIVAR. [Chap. IX. We found very good third-class fore at a fourth-rate hotel in jMaracay, where we arrived after sunsetand abode all nioht. Not more than a leaoue fromthe lake of Valencia, in the centre of the widest partof the plain, stands the town with its 4000 inhabi-tants. Like most of the settlements belonoino^ to thevalleys of Aragua, it is so happily situated for the. MAliACAY, AND THE LAKE OF VALENCIA. fertility of its soil as to take away the greateststimulus to labour. Resembling many other })artsof Venezuela, its population has suffered from theravages of war. It is inconceivable the amount ofdamage to the national prosperity and well-l)eingthese unhappy struggles have occasioned. Theprimal curse with which the eartli was visited for Chap. ix.] THE LAKE OF VALENCIA. 159 Adams sin is so little felt here, that we should thinkit a myth, were no portion of the earths surfaceless barren than that of Aragua. Some native cigarswere given to us, made from tobacco grown in theneighbourhood from Yuelta-Abajo seeds, and pre-pared by a Cuban. The result would not have dis-credited a good Habana brand. Bright and early the next morning (June 9) weleft Maracay, and soon after crossed the Tapatupa,an insio-nifieant stream, and so entered the State ofCarabobo. Bordering the road
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