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accumulating and casting up the wreck of their works, that 

 even this effect ought properly to be attributed. This is 

 the only way in which the land appears to be gaining on 

 the sea, by the labours of these diminutive animals ; and in 

 this way some addition has already been made to Mauritius. 

 It will continue to extend its limits in the same manner 

 until the shallows within the border of the reef are elevated 

 above the high - water mark ; but there the accession of 

 territory will most probably terminate. 



" When the 72d regiment occupied the outposts of the 

 island, I was quartered for some months at the cantonment 

 of the Riviere Noire, where I had ample scope for my 

 favourite pursuits. The country round this post presents 

 to the eye every thing that is grand and picturesque in 

 tropical scenery. Directly behind it the Tamarind Mountain 

 rises in the form of a cone, surmounted by a flag-staff for 

 repeating signals. The river glides through a mass of 

 mountains covered with wood, the shoulders of which, 

 pushed one behind the other into view, lengthen the per- 

 spective to an indefinite extent. In the foreground, a 

 variety of tropical trees, such as the Cocoa and Date-palms, 

 the Mango, the Tamarind, the Breadfruit, and Acacia, 

 scattered in agreeable confusion, permit a transient glance 

 at fields of Cotton, Manioc, and Sugar-cane, with herds of 

 Madagascar cattle pasturing on the lawn. A numerous 

 flotilla of coasting schooners charged with the produce of 

 the district, and of fishing canoes plying in all directions, 

 give a peculiar animation to the scene, which is still farther 

 enlivened by the cry of the hounds, echoed from the hills, 

 while they pursue the deer, and chase them into the sea 

 through the midst of the cantonment. 



" The mouth of the Riviere Noire affords safe anchorage 

 for a few ships of large size, and troops may be disembarked 

 without difficulty. It is, on this account, considered one of 

 the most important posts in the whole island; and the 

 approach to it is strongly guarded. On the east side, the 

 battery Lapreneuse, of six pieces of heavy artillery, is 

 erected on the most prominent point of the coast; about 



