Pi'oceediitys. 95 



were told that the birds of one island never visit the other, 

 and yet they are only sixty miles apart. But the Swallows, 

 we cannot tell what they do, their sweeping wings are to be 

 seen everywhere, though as there are no chimneys, we cannot 

 tell where they make a home ! 



There is one more beautiful thing of which I should like to 

 speak, and that is the sea. " There are two voices," the poet 

 tells us, " one is of the sea, and one is of the mountains " ; here 

 we have both to those who have ears to hear. The coast 

 round the Bay of Oratava is very picturesque, with bold rocky 

 headlands jutting out from the land, and huge boulders piled 

 up on the shore. Even when one is only conscious of a 

 gentle breeze, there is always a grand swell rushing in from 

 the Atlantic, and the waves dash over these rocks with all the 

 fury of a storm. And the contrast between the dazzling 

 white of the tossing spray and the intense blue of the sea is 

 most fascinating to watch as you stand on the little pier, or 

 sit on the beach under the Tamarisks. At low water, the 

 pools left by the tide are crowded with tiny fishes ; fishes 

 striped, banded, shaded in all sorts of colours, and, most 

 unusual of all, some of a deep indigo blue ; I never saw such 

 "got up" fishes before. At high water there are new 

 interests ; not many seaweeds are washed up, but bits of 

 coral and sponge, while the tinted bladders of the Portuguese 

 Man-of-war lie everywhere. The most frequent shells are 

 two which I have always thought special treasures in my 

 cabinet at home, here most abundant, — the Crozier Nautilus 

 and the Violet Snail. How such fragile things can survive 

 the tremendous force of the waves is a mystery ; perhaps it 

 shows, as Kingsley says, " that the sea is a gentle creature 

 after all." 



These two islands were the only ones we visited, but Gran 

 Canary is also much frequented. The other four islands have 

 not yet much accommodation for travellers, though all we 

 believe are interesting. We can only add testimony that 

 these Fortunate Isles are indeed fortunate and favoured, and 

 for myself I can but feel deeply thankful that I have been 

 permitted these fresh experiences of Grod's beautiful world, 



