Chap. i.| SUNSET ABOVE THE CLOUDS. 5 



water yielded by the natural melting of the snow above, and 

 there is no place where any can be gathered. 



At about 4,000 feet elevation we went through a dense bank 

 of cloud, formed by the trade wind, a similar one to that which 

 was seen from below on the day before, and which had hidden 

 the middle of the mountain from our view, but not the same, 

 for in the early morning there had not been a cloud in the sky. 

 The bank formed at about mid-day. At our camp, far above 

 this cloud-bank, the sun shone brightly, until about six o'clock 

 in the evening, when it began to disappear, and the air, which 

 had been almost too hot, became suddenly cold, the tempera- 

 ture going down almost to freezing point. 



We enjoyed a very extraordinary sunset effect. The upper 

 surface of the cloud-bank stretched away like a snow-white 

 billowy sea beneath us in every direction, hiding the actual 

 sea from our sight entirely, but just allowing us a glimpse of 

 the far-off island of Palma, which appeared as a purple streak 

 at the edge of the cloud horizon. x\s the sun went down the 

 clear sky beyond the white motionless cloud-bank became 

 tinged of a brilliant orange colour, and over it there shot out 

 from the descending sun a fan of pale crimson streamers 

 deeply tinted at their base, and gradually fading off into the 

 dark blue sky above, but visible nearly to the zenith. Beyond 

 the great cloud-bank more distant streaky clouds, lit up of a 

 brilliant violet, formed a sort of background to the scene. 

 Some amongst these little distant clouds from time to time 

 assumed fantastic shapes, and once we were almost persuaded 

 that we were looking upon the sea in the distance with two 

 very far-off ships upon it, but it was merely a delusion. The 

 sea was entirely shut out from our view, except once for a few 

 instants when a small rift in the cloud-bank occurred, and gave 

 us a momentary glimpse of the rippling surface far below, a 

 sort of vista view dimmed by the misty frame through which it 

 was seen. 



All the while the snowy peak itself was perfectly cloudless, 

 and stood out clear and sharp against a deep blue arctic-looking 

 sky. Soon the sunlight faded and the moon came out bright, 

 and the peak glistened in its light, which was strong enough for 

 me to read by easily. The view of our tent and camp fire 

 amongst the dark broom bushes with the moonlit snowy peak 

 in the background, fronted by some dark ridges of lava, was 

 most picturesque.* 



We set fire to some of the large Retama bushes and soon 



* For an account of the Peak of Tenerife and its cloud phenomena, 

 see C. Piazzi Smyth, F.R.S., etc., "Tenerife: an Astronomer's Experi- 

 ment." Eondon, Reeve, 1858. 



