CUSTOMS AND MANNEUS. 



panions of my voyage perished, I alone having been enabled 

 to reach the shore of an unknown island. As soon as I bad 

 set my foot on ground, I perceived that my clothes, which 

 were before dripping with moisture, had become dry. I re- 

 ceived a new vigour in every part of my body ; and an enthu- 

 siasm, such as I had not hitherto felt, took possession of my 

 souL Encouraged by this invisible aid, which appeared to 

 me nothing less than divine, I penetrated into the interior of 

 the island. On reaching the summit of a small hill by which 

 the sea-shore was bounded, what an enchanting spectacle pre- 

 sented itself to my view ! I discovered a vast plain oversha- 

 dowed by luxuriant palms and aged oaks, having its surface 

 enamelled by the most beautiful produ6lions of Flora, and in- 

 tersedled by a small river, the crystal waters of which afforded 

 a sight of the golden sands that covered the bottom. A chain 

 of mountains, whose lofty summits were hidden in the clouds, 

 terminated the horizon, and gave to the whole of the scene a 

 majestic and sublime perspe6live. The sweet chirping of the 

 birds, the breath of a soothing zephyr, and the soft murmur 

 of the waters of the river, occasionally interrupted, and ren- 

 dered less gloomy, the profound silence which prevailed 

 throughout this fortunate island. The aspe6l of so delightful 

 a region recalled to my recollection what I had read of the 

 Elysian Fields, and what I had seen in some parts of Peru, at 

 the same time that the territory which lay before me appeared 

 to me to be the particular abode of a divinity. Already I had 

 ceased to have any remembrance of the shipwreck, of my 

 country, and even of my own existence. 



Absorbed in the contemplation of so many beauties, I ob- 

 served a venerable old man, clad hke the Goths our ancestors, 



G g approach 



