264 WHALING AND FISHING. 



summit, but was never heard of afterward, and 

 probably perished in the descent. The natives 

 believe that his spirit still haunts the peak and 

 its immediate vicinity. A British naval officer 

 made the second and last ascent, with the assist- 

 ance of a company of seamen. The party passed 

 the night upon the mountain, some upon the 

 shoulder, and two or three sleeping uneasily upon 

 the narrow top of the ball. They descended the 

 next morning, after witnessing a most glorious 

 sunrise, and planting the British flag upon the 

 highest point of the ball, as a memorial of their 

 visit. This flag and staff have long ago been 

 blown down by the hurricanes. 



Mauritius, or the Isle of France, (it is equally 

 well known by both names), was discovered by 

 the Portuguese, in 1505. The Dutch took possess- 

 ion of it in 1598. Few if any traces of their gov- 

 ernment or settlement at present remain, with the 

 exception of the name, Mauritius, which the}' 

 bestowed upon the isle in honor of their prince, 

 Maurice. It came under the French flag in 1721, 

 and from that time till its capture by the British, 

 in 1810, was in their possession. These were, 

 from all accounts, the best days of the island. It 

 seems during this period to have been a modern 

 Arcadia, the abode of a peaceful, inoffensive and 

 somewhat indolent people, who tilled the ground 

 or "ended their flocks, unambitious of wealth or 

 distinction, and unmoved by the quarrels which 

 rent the civilized world. Under the British rule 



