of light in it's passage across the strata of the atmosphere, they may be at the same time of some practical utility. The volcanoes of Teneriffe, and of the Azores, the Sierra Nevada of St. Martha, the peak of Orizaba, the Silla of Caraccas, Mowna Roa, and Mount St. Elias, insulated in the vast extent of the seas, or placed on the coasts of continents, serve as sea marks to direct the pilot, who is deprived of the means fitted to determine the position of the vessel by the observation of the stars; every thing, which has a relation to the visibility of these natural seamarks, is interesting to the safety of navigation.

CHAPTER II.

Stay at Teneriffe.-Journey from Santa Cruz to Orotava.-Excursion to the top of the Peak of Teyde.

FROM the time of our departure from Graciosa, the horizon continued so hazy, that notwithstanding the considerable height of the mountains of Canary*, we did not discover this island till the evening of the 18th of June. It is the granary of the archipelago of the Fortunate islands, and what is very remarkable in a region situate beyond the limits of the tropics, we were assured, that in some districts, there are two wheat harvests in the year; one in February, and the other in June. Canary has never been visited by a learned mineralogist; yet this island is so much the more worthy of observation, as the physiognomy of it's mountains, disposed in parallel chains, appeared to me to differ entirely from that of the summits of Lanzerota and Te

Isla de la Gran Canaria.

+ Ledra, Voyage à Teneriffe, t. i, p. 37.

neriffe. Nothing is more interesting for the geologist, than to observe the relations, on the same point of the globe, between volcanic countries, and those which are primitive or secondary. When the Canary islands shall have been some day examined in all the parts, which compose the system of these mountains, we shall find, that we have been too precipitate in con. sidering the whole group as raised by the action of submarine fires.

The 19th, in the morning, we discovered the point of Naga*, but the peak of Teneriffe was still invisible: the land, obscured by a thick fog, presented forms that were vague and confused. As we approached the road of Santa Cruz, we observed that these vapours, driven by the winds, drew nearer. The sea was strongly agitated, as it most commonly is in those latitudes. We anchored after several soundings, for the mist was so thick, that we could scarcely distinguish objects at a few cables' distance; but at the moment we began to salute the place, the fog was instantly dispelled. The Peak of Teyde appeared in a break above the clouds, and the first rays of the sun, which had not yet risen on us, illuminated the summit of the volcano. We hastened toward the bow of the vessel, to enjoy the magnificent spectacle, when at the same instant we

*Punta de Naga, Anaga, or Nago.

saw four English ships of the royal navy lying to, very near the poop. We had passed without being perceived; and the same mist, which had hidden the peak from our view, had saved us from the danger of being carried back to Europe. It would have been very painful to naturalists, to have seen the coast of Teneriffe, without having been able to tread a soil torn up by volcanoes.

We immediately got up our anchor, and the Pizarro stood in as close as possible to the fort, to be under it's protection. It was on this shore, that, in the landing attempted by the English two years before our arrival*, admiral Nelson had his arm carried off by a cannon ball. The governor general of the Canaries† sent an order to the captain of the sloop, to put on shore the dispatches from the court for the governors of the colonies, the money on board, and the public correspondence. The English vessels left the road, having given chace the evening before to the packet boat the Alcudia, which had left Corunna a few days before us. She was obliged to touch at the port of Palmas, in the isle of Canary, and several passengers, who were going in a boat to Santa Cruz, had been made prisoners. The situation of this town is very similar to that of La Guayra, the most frequented port of * In the month of July, 1797.

the province of Caraccas. The heat is excessive in both places, and from the same causes; but the aspect of Santa Cruz is more gloomy. On a narrow and sandy beach, houses of dazzling whiteness, with flat roofs, and windows without glass, are stuck against a wall of black perpendicular rocks, stripped of vegetation. A fine mole, built of free stone, and the public walk planted with poplars, are the only objects, which break the sameness of the landscape. The view of the peak, such as it presents itself above Santa Cruz, is much less picturesque than that we enjoy from the port of Orotava. There, a highly cultured and smiling plain offers a pleasing contrast with the wild aspect of the volcano. From the groups of palm trees and bananas, which line the coast to the region of the arbutus, the laurel, and the pine, the volcanic rock is crowned with luxuriant vegetation. We easily conceive how the inhabitants, even of the beautiful climates of Greece and Italy, fancied that they recognised one of the Fortunates Isles in the western part of Teneriffe. The eastern side, that of Santa Cruz, on the contrary, is every where struck with the marks of sterility. The summit of the peak is not more arid than the promontory of basaltic lavas, which stretches towards the point of Naga, and on which succulent plants, springing up in the clefts of the rocks, scarcely indicate a preparation of soil. At the port of Oro