50 



MALIGNANT FEVER ON BOARD. 



miliar from infancy gradually approach the horizon, 

 and finally disappear. Nothing impresses more 

 vividly on the mind of the traveller the vast dis- 

 tance to which he has been removed from his native 

 country than the sight of a new firmament. The 

 grouping of the larger stars, the scattered nebulas 

 rivalling in lustre the milky-way, and spaces re- 

 markable for their extreme darkness, give the south- 

 ern heavens a peculiar aspect. The sight even 

 strikes the imagination of those who, although igno- 

 rant 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 astro- 

 nomical knowledge, perceives that he is not in Eu- 

 rope, 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 thermometer 

 stood from 93° to 96'8°. Two sailors, several pas- 

 sengers, two negroes from the coast of Guinea, and 

 a mulatto child were attacked. An ignorant Galician 

 surgeon ordered bleedings, to obviate the " heat and 

 corruption of the blood ;" hut little exertion had been 

 made in attempting to diminish the danger of infec- 

 tion, and there was not an ounce of bark on board. 

 A sailor, who had been on the point of expiring, re- 

 covered his health in a singular manner. His ham- 

 mock having been so hung that the sacrament could 



