VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA. 387 
houses, and alon<^ the coast, examining the rocks. They are a 
black lava, full of pores, cavities, and crevices. Innumerable 
spotted crabs crawled about them, and many of the cavities were 
filled with cockscomb oyster-shells, which stuck so fast, that it was 
with difficulty I obtained one whole specimen. In some places, 
the rocks are covered with a vitreous matter, like glazing. Lieu- 
tenant Roberts presented me with severallarge lumps ofobsidien, 
or volcanic glass, found in the interior. 
1 he sand on the beach consists chiefly, and I may almost say, 
wholly, of fragments of small shells, among which were several 
broken parts of beautiful varieties of a larger sort, but not one of 
them left whole. 
There are no animals on the island but wild goats, and number- 
less rats, which proved very troublesome to our people. Lieu- 
tenant Roberts having showed us the officers' tents and mess-room, 
carried us on board the Zebra in his boat, where w^e found several 
of the officers of the Racoon on a visit to those of our vessel. 
The establishment at Ascension, was made in consequence of 
General Bonaparte's confinement in St. Helena, and under an 
apprehension, that unless we took foonal possession of this island, 
some other power, or adventurer, might make it a stepping- 
stone to forward his escape. 
The sun shone in full splendor, and illumined the whole island. 
It is a beautiful object, as far as outline and colouring are con- 
cerned. One would not imagine that nature's pencil could <^ive 
such eftect to so desolate a spot. I endeavoured to obtain an ex- 
act sketch of the whole coast, before which we lay, and as the 
cloud had entirely withdrawn from the great mountain, nothing 
was wanted to render it complete. The colours were inimitably 
beautiful, and as the sun began to decline, almost every ^hade of 
red, brown, purple, lilac, blueish-grey, yellow, orange, black, and 
white, was produced, in one or other part of the landscape. 
About four o'clock, the two Captains, Mr. Somerset, and I, went 
on board the Racoon to dinner. She is a very handsome ship. 
