3 771* ROUND THE WORLD. 3G.0 



higher than themselves, in their neighbourhood; 

 Hecla is the highest hill in Iceland: volcanoes are 

 frequent in the highest part of the Andes in South 

 America; and the pike of Teneriffe is known to be 

 the covering of subterraneous fire: these are still 

 burning, but there are innumerable other mountains 

 which bear evident marks of fire that is now extinct, 

 and has been so from the time of our earliest tradi- 

 tions: among these is Saint Helena, where the in- 

 equalities of the ground, in its external surface, are 

 manifestly the effect of the sinking of the earth, for 

 the opposite ridges, though separated always by deep, 

 and sometimes by broad valleys, are exactly similar 

 both in appearance and direction; and that the sink- 

 ing of the earth in these parts, was caused by sub- 

 terraneous fire, is equally manifest from the stones; 

 for some of them, especially those in the bottom of 

 the valleys, are burnt almost to a cinder: in some 

 there are small bubbles, like those that are seen in 

 glass which has been urged almost to fusion, and some, 

 though at first sight they do not appear to have been 

 exposed to the action of great heat, will be found, 

 upon a closer inspection, to contain small pieces of 

 extraneous bodies, particularly mundick, which have 

 yielded to the power of fire, though it was not suf- 

 ficient to alter the appearance of the stone which con- 

 tained them. 



It appeared, as we approached it on the windward 

 side, like a rude heap of rocks, bounded by precipices 

 of amazing height, and consisting of a kind of half 

 friable stone, which shows not the least sign of vege- 

 tation; nor is it more promising upon a nearer view: 

 in sailing along the shore, we came so near the huge 

 cliffs, that they seemed to overhang the ship, and the 

 tremendous effect of their giving way, made us al- 

 most fear the event: at length we opened a valley, 

 called Chappel Valley, which resembles a large 

 trench; and in this valley we discovered the town. 

 The bottom of it is slightly covered with herbage, but 

 the sides are as naked as the cliffs that are next the 



