Page:The Present State of Peru.djvu/470

412 degrees of longitude, fixing the first meridian at the Peak of Teneriffe. These dimensions being calculated, the result is a superficies of about eight thousand square leagues, a space capable of containing, without inconvenience, a population of about five millions of persons, by whom a most flourishing trade and intercourse might be carried on.

Its fecundity is equal to the prerogatives of its advantageous position. The eastern branch of the Cordillera of the Andes, which, running between the Huallaga and the Mayro, unites this peninsula with Peru, and the different mountains which, originating at the Cordillera, descend at various distances into the plain, abound in that rich metal which ennobles man, which constitutes his fortune, and which even acquires him, without effort, the sublime titles of wise, discreet, and the rest of those eminent qualities that are wont to shine with diminished lustre when viewed from beneath the humble garments of the poor. Washed down by the rains, this noble metal shines amid the sands of the rivers, combined with the hard flint which conceals the diamond, and with the precious shell in which the pearl is stored. The multitude and variety of the fishes which play on the surface of the waters, are not inferior to those of the beautiful and melodious warblers by which the air is peopled, and to the diversity of the quadrupeds which browse on the plains. It would be fortunate if the insects and reptiles were less numerous. If it be certain that there exists on the earth an irrational creature on whose forehead shines the star of the morning, this favoured territory is without doubt the one