180 



fore the port of Cadiz, taking each other's ships 

 for an enemy's. The battle was so terrible, that 

 both vessels were sunk nearly at the same time. 

 A very small part of the crew was saved, and 

 the two brothers had the misfortune to recog- 

 nize each other a little before they expired. 



The governor of Cumana expressed his great 

 satisfaction at the resolution we had taken to 

 remain for some time in New Andalusia, the 

 name of which province at this period was very 

 little known in Europe, and which in it's moun- 

 tains, and on the banks of it's numerous rivers, 

 contains a great number of objects worthy of 

 fixing the attention of naturalists. Mr. de Em- 

 paran showed us cottons dyed with native plants, 

 and fine furniture which was made exclusively 

 with f the wood of the country : he interested 

 himself much in every thing that related to na- 

 tural philosophy ; and asked, to our great asto- 

 nishment, if we thought, that under the beau- 

 tiful sky of the tropics, the atmosphere contain- 

 ed less azot (azotico) than in Spain ; or if the 

 rapidity, with which iron oxidates in those cli- 

 mates, was only the effect of a greater humidity 

 indicated by the hair hygrometer. The name 



of his native country pronounced on a distant 



i 



shore would not have been more agreeable to 

 the ear of a traveller, than those words of azot, 

 oxyd of iron, and hygrometer, were to ours. 

 We knew, that, notwithstanding the orders 



