]0 THE TROPICAL WORLD. 



Of the thousands of banana or plantain trees which had covered 

 and adorned the land, scarcely one was left standing, either on 

 the plains, in the valleys, or upon the mountains. Stately 

 trees, that had withstood the storms of ages, were laid prostrate 

 on the ground, and thrown upon each other in the wildest con- 

 fusion ; while even of those that were still standing, many were 

 left without a branch, and all perfectly leafless. So great and 

 so general was the destruction, that no spot escaped ; for the 

 gale, veering gradually round the island, did most effectually 

 its devastating work. 



Though the tropical storms are thus frequently a scourge, 

 they are often productive of no less signal benefits. Many a 

 murderous epidemic has suddenly ceased after one of these 

 natural convulsions, and myriads of insects, the destroyers of 

 the planter's hopes, are swept away by the fierce tornado. Be- 

 sides, if the equatorial hurricanes are far more furious than our 

 storms, a more luxurious vegetation effaces their vestiges in a 

 shorter time. Thus Nature teaches us that a preponderance of 

 good is frequently concealed behind the paroxysms of her appa- 

 rently unbridled rage. 



