over 1000 feet above the general level, while Los Tormentos must be from 4000 to 5000 feet in height. The Volcan de Agua, like its namesake near old Guatemala, does not, as might be supposed, emit water. That volumes of water do occasionally descend its sides is not improbable. But this may be accounted for by supposing an extinct crater filled with water by the heavy rains, which, breaking through the scoriaceous sides, has descended in desolating torrents over the adjacent country. Such a flow of water took place about a century ago, but caused no damage beyond sweeping away a few Indian huts. The sides of Las Cinezas afford abundant evidences that such overflows have several times occurred, appearing as if a mighty river had been poured from the crater."

The most celebrated volcanoes of Guatemala, however, are those of Agua and Fuego (water and fire), near the city of Antigua Guatemala. The former is a perfect cone in outline, clothed with perpetual verdure to its summit. It derives its name from an eruption or flow of water, which took place very soon after the Conquest, in the year 1541, and which destroyed the original city of Guatemala, and buried Doña Beatrice de la Cueva, the remarkable wife of Pedro de Alvarado, the Conqueror, beneath its ruins. Mr. Leigh Page, who ascended this volcano in 1834, has left us a record of the adventure, from which the subjoined account is abridged:

"At one o'clock P. M. on the 25th of August we set out from Ciudad Vieja for the summit of the Volcan de Agua. At three o'clock we reached the village of Sta. Maria, beyond which we traversed a district studded with trees and covered with luxuriant grass, among which the native single dahlia was conspicuous. The path gradually became contracted and steep until we reached a part of the mountain called La Cruz, from a large cross erected there. Here we were obliged to leave our mules and proceed on foot by torchlight, scrambling through rank grass

and dense undergrowth with great difficulty and fatigue. We encamped for the night by the side of a blazing fire. Early the next morning we resumed our ascent, entering the region of pines, noble trees swaying their branches with a solemn sound to the impulses of the winds. At sunrise we saw a vast sea of clouds floating beneath us. At seven o'clock we reached the summit, and gladly descended into the crater, to escape the cold and cutting winds which swept around us. This crater is a hollow space from forty to fifty yards deep, and about a hundred and fifty in diameter. The sides and bottom are strewed with masses of rock, which show the effect of boiling water or of fire, the spaces between them being filled with bushes and trees. After breakfast we climbed to the highest peak of the mountain, from which we obtained a glorious view in every direction, embracing in its range the cities of Old and New Guatemala, the Lake of Amatitlan, the Department of Suchitepequez, and the range of volcanoes stretching away to the borders of Chiapa. To the north and east we saw the mountains of Vera Paz and Belize, and the rich State of San Salvador, while one hundred and forty miles to the northeast could be discerned the waters of the Atlantic, those of the Pacific appearing almost at our feet, although ninety miles distant. While contemplating the view, we were surprised by the appearance of two large wild oxen, which the Indians, by shouting, tried to frighten over into the crater. We saluted them with our pistol balls, but they nevertheless escaped. Leaving an inscription to commemorate our visit, we began our descent, each one with a cord around his waist, held by an Indian in front and another behind. After descending a certain distance, flowers began to bloom on every side. I recognized the dahlia, the lupin, and a species of large poppy. We also gathered some fine strawberries."

The Indians of the little town of Santa Maria, on the flank of this volcano, derive a small profit from collecting the hoar-frost or snow which settles on the summit, which they envelop in dry grass and carry to the city of Guatemala for sale.

To the westward of the Volcan de Agua, and wholly

disconnected from it, is the Volcan del Fuego, a mountain of vast bulk and great height, which sends out smoke and ashes continually. Sometimes flame rises from its centre, and fearful rumblings are heard within its depths. Its summit is covered with ashes and scoriæ, and has never been reached by human foot.* Distant about eight leagues from the volcanoes just described is the Volcano of Pacaya, somewhat less imposing in size, and apparently of later formation. It still exhibits signs of activity, although covered to the summit with fine timber.

The following table, reduced from the observations of Captain De Lepelin, of the French navy, gives the latitudes, longitudes, and elevations of the principal volcanoes above noticed:

The present capital of Guatemala, called Nueva or New Guatemala, is the third of the name, and was founded in 1776, three years after the almost total destruction of Antigua Guatemala in 1773, which city itself succeeded to that founded by Alvarado, on the plain of Almolonga, at the foot of the Volcan de Agua, the ruins of which are known as Ciudad Vieja, or Old City. It is situated in the tierra templada, or temper

* On the 17th of September, 1857, the Volcan de Fuego broke out into an active state of eruption, which continued for some days. A great quantity of lava was ejected, but, as far as is yet known, no injury was done to the towns and plantations in the neighborhood beyond a certain amount of damage to the crop of cochineal.

The ancient capital, founded by Alvarado, was destroyed in 1541 by a great flood of water precipitated from the Volcan de Agua during a severe earthquake. It has generally been assumed that the flow of water was a real eruption, but there is abundant reason for believing that the water flowed from the

ate belt of country, 4372 feet above the level of the sea, at the northern extremity of a vast and beautiful plain, in lat. 14° 35' N., and long. 90° 45′ W. of Greenwich. Its position is equally salubrious and lovely, the thermometer rarely rising above 80° of Fahr., and never reaching the freezing point. The mean average for the year is about 65°, a temperature which may be described as that of eternal spring. Mr. Stephens describes his approach to the city as follows:

"Late in the afternoon, as I ascended a small eminence, two immense volcanoes stood before me, seeming to scorn the earth, and towering to the heavens. They were the great volcanoes of Agua and Fuego, forty miles distant, and nearly 15,000 feet high, wonderfully grand and beautiful. In a few minutes the great plain of Guatemala appeared in view, surrounded by mountains, and in the centre of it the city, a mere speck on the vast expanse, with churches and convents, and numerous turrets, cupolas, and steeples, and still as if the spirit of peace rested on it, with no storied associations, but by its own beauty creating an impression on the mind of the traveler which can never be effaced. I dismounted and tied up my mule. As yet the sun lighted up the domes of the city, giving a reflection so dazzling that I could only look at them by stealth. By degrees its disk touched the Volcan de Agua; slowly the whole orb sank behind it, illuminating the background with an atmosphere fiery red. A rich golden cloud rolled up its side and rested on its top, and while I gazed the golden hues disappeared, and the glory of the scene was gone.”

But beyond its fine climate, and the beautiful prospect which it commands, Nueva Guatemala possesses few advantages of a substantial character. The neighboring country, although not sterile, is deficient in wa

accumulations of rain and snow in the extinct crater, the walls of which were broken through by the pressure or disrupted by the earthquake. It was from this circumstance that the volcano derives its name. It was called by the aborigines Hunap-hu.