( 177 ) 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



METEOROLOGY. 



1. First View of Sieri'a Leone. — Dr Boyle, in his interesting 

 work on the medical topography of the western coast of Africa, 

 says, " There are very few parts in the tropical world which at 

 first sight hold out more allurements, even to the experienced 

 traveller, than Sierra Leone. Its splendid scenery, and its beau- 

 tiful river, together with its extensive, commodious, and general- 

 ly secure harbour, and pleasant-looking town and villages, are 

 calculated to excite the most flattering hopes in respect of health 

 and enjoyment, notwithstanding strong previous impressions 

 with regard to the contrary. On making Sierra Leone from the 

 north, the mountains from which the peninsula was named first 

 excite attention. They are lofty, perpetually clothed, from 

 their summits to their bases, in all the fertile gaity of Nature's 

 verdant scenery ; and there is a pleasing and endless variety in 

 the outline of their countless peaks and dechvities. As the ship 

 draws in with the shore, signs of cultivation appear, and increase 

 with rapidity, both in number and attractiveness. Freetown, 

 and the lately formed villages in its neighbourhood^ at first ap- 

 pear like anomalous patches in the view ; but on a nearer ap- 

 proach, they add greatly to its beauty and its interest. When 

 the ship has arrived just at that point of distance from which a 

 person may see all the broad outlines and apparent characteris- 

 tics of an extensive scene, without being able to discern the mi- 

 nute details, the effect is magnificent. On the left hand is the 

 BuUoon shore, low, but covered with luxurious and richly 

 coloured bush, an occasional palm and pullom tree, rising in 

 graceful form above the neighbouring mangroves: — in appear- 

 ance it seems to embody t|;ie notions formed of fairy-land, but 

 its reahties most sadly illustrate the folly of such dreams. The 

 middle ground also occurs on the left hand, and it gives a va- 

 riety to the view. In front are the spacious river, extending 

 farther than the eye can reach, and the north side of the penin- 

 sula, with its lofty mountains, and Freetown, running to the wa- 



VOL. XIII. NO. XXV. JULY 1832. M 



