CANARY ISLANDS. 97 



place, while it often falls in La Villa de la Orotava, which is 

 situated at an elevation of about 1,000 feet above the level 

 of the ocean. The climate of Santa Cruz is too hot in 

 summer, but it makes a pleasant place of residence in 

 the winter. 



During the months of April, May, June, October, Novem- 

 ber, and December, the inhabitants of these islands expe- 

 rience most of the time, a northerly wind ; while in the 

 months of July, August, and September, the wind blows 

 promiscuously from all quarters ; and during the winter 

 months, they have a prevailing wind from the east or north- 

 east, attended by awful tempests of wind, hail and rain ; 

 but notwithstanding the calamities which they frequently 

 occasion, and which the thunder-rod cannot infallibly pre- 

 vent, they deserve to be considered as one of the greatest 

 benefits that providence has bestowed on them. " They 

 diffuse freshness through the atmosphere when it is in a 

 confined and sultry state ; the plants resume their lively 

 green, the flowers raise their drooping heads when their 

 thirst has been quenched by the rain ; the crops and fruits, 

 penetrated by the new warmth, ripen more rapidly, and 

 man silently adores the Great Being whose power has 

 been thus displayed." 



Santa Cruz, Monday, ) 

 October 14, 18;33. \ 



