July, 1836. ST. HELENA. 585 



and the square black mass of the Barn. On the whole the 

 view is rather bleak and uninteresting. 



The scrupulous degree to which the coast must formerly 

 have been guarded, is quite extraordinary : there are alarm 

 houses, alarm guns, and alarm stations on every peak. I 

 was much struck with the number of forts and picket houses, 

 on the line leading down to Prosperous Bay. One would 

 have supposed that this at least was an easy descent: I 

 found it however a mere goat-path, and in one spot the use 

 of ropes, which were fixed into rings in the cliff, were almost 

 indispensable. At the present day two artillery-men are 

 kept there; for what use it is not easy to conjecture. Pro- 

 sperous Bay, although wath so flourishing a name, has 

 nothing more attractive than a wild sea-beach, and black 

 utterly barren rocks. The only inconvenience I suffered in 

 my walks, was from the impetuous winds. One day I 

 noticed a curious circumstance : standing on the edge of a 

 plain, terminated by a great cliff of about a thousand feet in 

 depth, I saw at the distance of a few yards right to wind- 

 Avard, some tern, struggling against a very strong breeze, 

 whilst, where I stood, the air was quite calm. Approaching 

 close to the brink, I stretched out my arm, w^hich immedi- 

 ately felt the full force of the wind : an invisible barrier of 

 two yards wide, separated a strongly agitated from a per- 

 fectly calm air. The current meeting the bold face of the 

 chff, must have been reflected upwards at a certain angle, 

 within which plane there necessarily would be either an 

 eddy or a calm. 



I so much enjoyed my rambles among the rocks and 

 mountains of St. Helena, that I felt almost sorry on the 

 morning of the 14th to descend to the town. Before noon 

 I was on board, and the Beagle made sail for Ascension. 



We reached the anchorage of the latter place on the even- 

 ing of the 19th (July). Those who have beheld a volcanic 

 island, situated within an arid climate, will be able at once to 

 picture to themselves the aspect of Ascension. They will 

 imagine smooth conical hills of a bright red colour, with 



