Proceedings. 89 



sit in the verandahs after a late dinner, even at Christmas- 

 time. 



A voyage of six days from Southampton lands us at Santa 

 Cruz, the port of Teneriffe. If the horizon is clear, the peak 

 may be seen seventy or even one hundred miles out at sea, 

 but we saw it not. The peak hidden, there is nothing very 

 striking in the rocky mountainous coast with its fringe of 

 Tamarisk trees, as the vessel glides into the harbour. But 

 once on shore, and once beginning to mount the ascent which 

 lies at the back of the town, we' realize that we are indeed in 

 a southern land. Oratava is the place of resort, and to reach 

 it you have to drive twenty-five miles, and mount 2000 feet 

 over the ridge which separates the two sides of the island. 

 And a delightful drive it is, fresh and novel to English eyes. 

 Eucalyptus, Pepper trees. Locust trees, such as are seen in 

 the Kiviera, line the road ; Fig trees of luxuriant green nestle 

 in the nooks, masses of Scarlet Geranium almost dazzle with 

 their brilliancy ; a few Palm trees stand up against the blue, 

 cloudless sky, while below, in wider and wider vision as we 

 ascend, lies the sea, ultra-marine in colour, bounded by Gran 

 Canary, the next largest island, 60 miles away. 



As we mount the air grows cooler, and at the summit of 

 2000 feet we get into mist and rain. But presently we pass 

 out of this, and begin to descend, and soon return to blue sky 

 and sunshine. Then far below lies stretched out the valley 

 of Oratava, with the sea again in all its depth of colour ; only 

 now it is the other side — the western side of the island with 

 nothing between us and North America. The first view of 

 the far-famed valley is a little disappointing, perhaps because 

 my dreams had pictured it a mass of wild, luxuriant, tropical 

 vegetation. Instead of that, hardly an expanse of English 

 landscape could be more carefully laid out in cultivation. It 

 is broken up into small patches of cultivated ground, without 

 the softening effects of English hedgerows to divide them. 

 True, the vast semi-circle of volcanic rock, which shuts in 

 the valley, is grand and imposing ; but with the peak in the 

 clouds, as it constantly is, the best feature of all is wanting. 

 In this case we find distance does not lend enchantment to 



