lOI 



Daybreak from the " Homein em Pe.' 



We had just climbed up some steep basalt rock and reached 

 an open spot, when the first rays of the sun tinged the eastern 

 sky. Beaming in all his majesty on the sharply-defined 

 clouds that hovered beneath, they sparkled like so many ice- 

 capped peaks of Alpine glaciers ; and when the great luminary 

 ascended higher, distributing mingled light and shade in 

 such gradations of tint as only Nature's cunning hand can 

 mingle, the chaotic masses of vapour assumed the appearance 

 of gigantic islands and lofty towering mountains, whilst a 

 chorus of feathered songsters rung cheerfully out from the 

 depths of the wooded valleys. The path wound along a 

 precipitous declivity, grown over with tangled Til-trees, past 

 a group of basaltic columns, which rose isolated to a height 

 of 40 feet above the beautiful grassy carpet that clothes 



