The soil was, to the depth of several feet, a rich black mould, on which a profusion of valuable herbs and fruits grew spontaneously, and on which all the choicest productions of tropical regions might easily be raised by human industry and art; and yet the exuberant fertility of the earth had not tainted the purity of the air.

Considered merely as a place of residence, the isthmus was a paradise.

A colony placed there could not fail to prosper, even if it had no wealth except what was derived from agriculture.

But agriculture was a secondary object in the colonization of Darien.

Let but that precious neck of land be occupied by an intelligent, an enterprising, a thrifty race; and, in a few years, the whole trade between India and Europe must be drawn to that point.