185 



Teyde has not the advantage of being situate in 

 the equinoctial region ; but the dryness of the 

 columns of air which rise perpetually above the 

 neighbouring plains of Africa, and which the 

 eastern winds bring with rapidity, gives the at- 

 mosphere of the Canary Islands a transparency, 

 which surpasses not only that of the air of Na- 

 ples and Sicily, but perhaps also the purity of 

 the sky of Quito and Peru. This transparency 

 may be regarded as one of the chief causes of 

 the beauty of the landscape under the torrid 

 zone ; it is this which heightens the splendor of 

 the vegetable coloring, and contributes to the 

 magical effect of their harmonies and their con- 

 trasts. If a mass of light, which circulates about 

 objects, fatigues the external senses during a 

 part of the day, the inhabitant of the southern 

 climates has his compensations in moral enjoy- 

 ments. A lucid clearness in the conceptions, a 

 serenity of mind, correspond with the transpa- 

 rency of the surrounding atmosphere. We feel 

 these impressions without overstepping the li- 

 mits of Europe. I appeal to travellers who have 

 visited countries rendered famous by prodigies 

 of the imagination and the arts, the favoured 

 climates of Italy and Greece. 



We prolonged in vain our stay on the summit 

 of the Peak, to wait the moment when we might 

 enjoy the view of the whole of the Archipelago of 



