ISLAND OF LANCKKOTA. 29 



Santa Cruz in TenerifFe was blockaded by the English ; chap. II. 

 and on the IGth, in the afternoon, the seamen discovered , ,„,"~~»„ 

 land, which proved to be that island. As they advanced, 

 tliey saw first the island of Fortevontura, famous for 

 the number o-f camels reared upon it, and soon after the 

 smaller one of Lobos, Spending part of the night on 

 deck, the naturalists viewed the volcanic summits ol 

 Lancerota illumined by the moon, and enjoyed the 

 beautiful serenity of the atmosphere. After a time, 

 great black clouds, rising behind the volcano, shrouded 

 at intervals the moon and the constellation of Scorpio. 

 They observed lights carried about on the shore, pro- 

 bably by fishermen, and having been employed occa- 

 sionally during their passage in reading some of the old 

 Spanish voyages, these moving fires recalled to their 

 imagination those seen on the island of Guanahani on 

 the memorable night of the discovery of the New 

 World. 



In passing through the archipelago of small islands, Configia- 

 situated to the north of Lancerota, they were struck by coasts! ^^^ 

 the configuration of the coasts, which resembled the 

 banks of the Rhine near Bonn. It is a remarkable cir- 

 cumstance, our author observes, that, while the forms 

 of animals and plants exhibit the greatest diversity in 

 different climates, the rocky masses present the same 

 appearances in both hemispheres. In the Canary Isles, 

 as in Auvergne, in the Mittelgebirge in Bohemia, in 

 Mexico, and on the banks of the Ganges, the trap for- 

 mation displays a symmetrical arrangement of the 

 mountains, exhibiting truncated cones and graduated 

 platforms. 



The whole western part of Lancerota announces the Voican 

 character of a country recently deranged by volcanic '^"'^^^ 

 action, every part being black, arid, and destitute of 

 soil. The Abbe' Viera relates, that in 1730 more than 

 half of the island changed its appearance. The great 

 volcano ravaged the most fertile and best cultivated 

 district, and entirely destroyed nine villages. Its erup- 

 tions were preceded by an earthquake, and violent 



