T E N E R I F F E. 43 
singularly beautiful and interesting. We continued* to ascend 
by a sort of steps from rock to rock, and along the brink of 
frightful precijjices, till 7 o'clock, when we perceived the cloud 
that enveloped the bosom of the peak rolling down the sides of 
the mountain with great velocity. The thermometer, at noon 
when we left Oratava, stood at 76° ; and it was now doAvn 
to 45°. The guides began to be alarmed, and said we should 
be overwhelmed by the storm that was brewing above, if we 
attempted to proceed much higher. We therefore concluded 
to halt for the night under the lee of a large rock, near 
which was growing a quantity of the Cytisus foliosiis, and of 
the Spartiiim Jiiihigena, the cloud-born broom ; the former of 
which Avas no bad fuel, though green, and the latter served 
for our beds. The old sail Avas our general coverlid, but it 
soon became dripping wet, and Fahrenheit's thermometer 
sunk to 40°. Just below us there happened to be a verdant 
A'alle}^ clioaked with shrubby plants, to which the nmleteers 
set fire ; and the crackling blaze in the midst of the storm and 
darkness produced a sublime and solenui scene, which was 
heightened to a more romantic pitch by the guides and 
muleteers singing in full chorus the midnight hymn to the 
Virgin. 
The following morning brought with it but little hope of a 
favourable change in the weather. The guides still con- 
tinued to shew a reluctance to proceed ; and the greater part 
of our company, cold, wet, fatigued, and heartily sick of the 
expedition, seemed to encourage the unwillingness of the 
Spaniards. Four of us, however, determined not so readil} 
G 2 
