510 . CHARLES DARWIN 



speak to their servants in French, and the shops are all 

 French; indeed, I should think that Calais or Boulogne was 

 much more Anglified. There is a very pretty little theatre, 

 in which operas are excellently performed. We were also 

 surprised at seeing large booksellers' shops, with well-stored 

 shelves; music and reading bespeak our approach to the 

 old world of civilization; for in truth both Australia and 

 America are new worlds. 



The various races of men walking in the streets afford the 

 most interesting spectacle in Port Louis. Convicts from 

 India are banished here for life; at present there are about 

 800, and they are employed in various public works. Before 

 seeing these people, I had no idea that the inhabitants of 

 India were such noble-looking figures. Their skin is ex- 

 tremely dark, and many of the older men had large mus- 

 taches and beards of a snow-white colour ; this, together with 

 the fire of their expression, gave them quite an imposing 

 aspect. The greater number had been banished for murder 

 and the worst crimes; others for causes which can scarcely 

 be considered as moral faults, such as for not obeying, from 

 superstitious motives, the English laws. These men are 

 generally quiet and well-conducted; from their outward 

 conduct, their cleanliness, and faithful observance of their 

 strange religious rites, it was impossible to look at them 

 with the same eyes as on our wretched convicts in New 

 South Wales. 



May ist. Sunday. I took a quiet walk along the sea- 

 coast to the north of the town. The plain in this part is quite 

 uncultivated; it consists of a field of black lava, smoothed 

 over with coarse grass and bushes, the latter being chiefly 

 Mimosas. The scenery may be described as intermediate in 

 character between that of the Galapagos and of Tahiti ; but 

 this will convey a definite idea to very few persons. It is a 

 very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of Tahiti, or 

 the grandeur of Brazil. The next day I ascended La Pouce, 

 a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which 

 rises close behind the town to a height of 2,600 feet. The 

 centre of the island consists of a great platform, surrounded 

 by old broken basaltic mountains, with their strata dipping 

 seawards. The central platform, formed of comparatively 



