At this elevation the landscape attains its most brilliant tint; and every form, every shade, so completely surpasses in magnificence all that the European has ever beheld in his own country, that he knows not how to express his feelings.

The general effect frequently recalled to my mind the gayest scenery of the Opera-house or the great theatres.

I never returned from these excursions empty-handed.

This day I found a specimen of a curious fungus, called Hymenophallus.
Most people know the English Phallus, which in autumn taints the air with its odious smell: this, however, as the entomologist is aware, is to some of our beetles a delightful fragrance.

So was it here; for a Strongylus, attracted by the odour, alighted on the fungus as I carried it in my hand.