TES FROM WELLINGTON TO PANAMA.

Grey River Argus, Volume V, Issue 301, 17 December 1867, Page 3

TES FROM WELLINGTON TO PANAMA.

(From the Colonist.) following sentences, from the pen late Mr Otto Wie.senha.vern, were here by the October mail, and be read with melancholy interest by many friends he. had gained in Grey- :— the Bth August we left Wellington, ply laden with coal, for Panama. The was as fine and clear as ever you wish it, but on the following day showed us what a capricious he can be, and called all his. windtogether, which gave us for eight days a hearty dance. Sea after swamped the. decks, and some, gentleremembered the fate of the London , by this and other gloomy stories of they thought to give us a treat. soon all was forgotten, and after the shocks, of sea-sickness we began to the acquaintance of each other. The eight in number, and partly young, and pretty, proved a very agreeable of our society, and though their tatea,bs wej-e nob veiy highly dethe piano was often called in and helped to spend many a HPBktat hour. The weather continued WcooT*untU we. were only two days, off H Panama, but then I fett the. heat n\ost Boppressive, and in. the evening of the 3rd H September we anchored, and received Hnewspapers on board, Then we learned Hthat the s,teamer from here to San FranHcisco had 38 cases of yellow fever on ■board. The Southampton steamer, too, Htad a few cases. This, ne.ws, together the information that the steamer for H^ew York had juat le,f t, and that we had wait nine long days for the next, boat, i a gloom over our party, and we were anything bul a good humor. The next morning, I enjoyed the beautiaspect of the harbOTj with the town of j ana ibs little islets, clad in the J flowery beauty of a tropical climate, aspect of the pineapple and banana the cocoa-nut palms, ever and light green, was really very ami the town of Panama, with red roofs, and grand old cathedral, its t\vu tin© towers, recalled the picv,,of a little town in the old country to The mood and humor of passengers, however, \va& still very but I quickly determines »po» ! and went with two or three gentleon board a small steamer to town. t description of Panama has often j given, and has already been described i Cohnist by an observant pen. 1 content myself with saying that the place, with its town walls and all in ruins, and overgrown with r vegetation, made a peculiar impresme. buildings, and houses with veranverandahs, the very narrow the peculiar, small, but pretty the m.ules y the black, white, yellow, ; colored people, the gigantic of the vegetation— everything so different from Australia or New ?as all entirely new and deeply at the Grand Hotel, I soon j a sherry cobJer, and asking the en passant about the yellow fever, j got quite indignant, and tried me that yellow fever is not j worse than measles ! I left him to and I kept mine. heat in Panama, if not stronger Melbourne, is always damp, and swamps of Panama, enj^^Hpd by venomous reptiles and insects, not a little to make the atmosP 3^H aaa^d plas« anytlung out pleasant. rfy^BaUs of the buildings are perpetually da\^B and knives, forks, and keys exposed t tot^l^ir get rusty in no time. Linen, if }]H washed immediately, gets black f^H streets never get cleaned, and the amvflßlfa'tion of dirt and filth of ail de»3ripti»s» which gets augmented and flaroreS b y the dail y emptying of dishwater, W-i from the houses, give ample room 'f ojfc'"gene Rimmel to make studies for the iStentionof further new perfumes. At nightjßphe danger of an involuntary baptising ■B r unholy, waters out of the. upper m«pwß is great. The moab agreeable Mrt of the daj', however, is after sunset when you sit under the verandah sijfcing some cooling drink, and seeing the Spanish ladies, with their gracef nl dresSftheir raven locks, and black and piercingWres, passing by, who are very polite, crmrteously answering even a ptranger who\^olitely kisses his hand to them as they I amused myself so far very well> waist all the other passengers bound forVNew York stopped on Hoard, off TobagA at the rate of 10s per T^io charges iri the Grand Hotel are three dollars ptm diem. Wages and everything are ex«mely high ; a white „ Jabarer ge.ts four fcllars a day, a nigger ones dollar. Waslmg is 10s per dozen, $n& aW *^ c battens K lost on account of the articles being hmmered with sticks in the river, instead A being washed by jxand. No, house, poshes windows, but holes take their place,Vd these are shut at night by Yeuetian bajte. /ißhe vegetation is reamheautiful, and n(Kfc is one flower called^fc Doveflower, M^kt engaged my parti^^ attention. lt» blossoms are of the s^\a wabaut, in which some leaves iorh \cbly the shape of a whibe Aovb. \ V There are hogs without all, and liwe pigs which erect their *\when i snwryMike dogs. The same naV \nger

general genua of swine. The </ld negro women are particularly fond of these beasts, petting them like lap-dogs. Pelicans and tortoises are here in abundance. The Cathedral is quibe o}iJ-ias}iio»ed, and the woodwork richly carved and decorated with Mary's and other holy peoples' pictures, 1 often go to mass to admire it and the. pioua audience. That is all that I have to tell you at present about Panama. Next Thursday I am. off to New York, from which place I mean to. write again.