58 CONSTELLATIONS. 
boldt, ““when, as he approaches the equator, and es- 
pecially in passing from the one hemisphere to the 
other, he sees the stars with which he has been fa- 
miliar from infancy gradually approach the horizon 
and finally disappear. Nothing impresses more vi- 
vidly on the mind of the traveller the vast distance 
to which he has been removed from his native coun- 
try than the sight of anew firmament. The group- 
ing of the larger stars, the scattered nebule rivalling 
in lustre the milky-way, and spaces remarkable for 
their extreme darkness, give the southern heavens a 
peculiar aspect. The sight even strikes the imagi- 
nation of those who, although ignorant of astronomy, 
find pleasure in contemplating the celestial vault, 
as one admires a fine landscape or a majestic site. 
Without being a botanist, the traveller knows the 
torrid zone by the mere sight of its vegetation ; and 
without the possession of astronomical knowledge 
perceives that he is not in Europe, when he sees 
rising in the horizon the great constellation of the 
Ship, or the phosphorescent clouds of Magellan. 
In the equinoctial regions, the earth, the sky, and 
all their garniture, assume an exotic character.” 
The intertropical seas being usually smooth, and 
the vessel being impelled by the gentle breezes of 
the trade-wind, the passage from the Cape Verd 
Islands to Cumana was as pleasant as could be de- 
sired ; but as they approached the West Indies a 
malignant fever disclosed itself on board. The ship 
was very much encumbered between decks, and 
from the time they passed the tropic the thermo- 
meter stood from 93° to 96:8°.. Two sailors, seve- 
ral passengers, two negroes from the coast of Guinea, 
and a mulatto child, were attacked. An ignorant 
