My Heart in a Transport of Deltght. 
209 
which they scented the air : I believed mj'self transported to some fairy 
garden, for such a blending of colour, such a multiplicity combined 
within so small a space, had been a surprise to me until to-day. The 
border of the brushwood that enclosed this botanical El Dorado, con- 
sisted of the glorious TJiihaiidia nutans Klotzsch, a new and beautiful 
species, the young rose-red leaves and half-red, half-white flowers of 
which, in conjunction with the yellow sweet-scented blossoms of the 
Root-parasite, Loranthus Tafina H.B.K., the beautiful Melastoma, the 
big- bloomed delicate trees of the Tn'behoiiM triphi/Ua DeO. and the tree- 
ferns, formed a garland around which again a number of creepers slung 
themselves in fantastic tangles, or joined to foi'm a thict fence. As I 
now looked up at the giant sandstone Avail mounting nb'Ove me to a height 
of 1,500 feet, and at the many water-falls that ru«^']i^d over its summit 
down the precipice, my mind gave me to shout, but I felt so small and 
insignificant in front of the imposing massif, a description of Avhich I 
hardly dare commence on account of my pen being unequal to the task 
of expressing in language the sensations and sentiments that became 
nascent in me. There were too many objects that unexpectedly offered 
themselves to my gaze: T recognized nothing fleflnite and it became 
impossible for me to devote more than momentary attention to one and 
the same plant: indeed at last I could not even find words to express 
my feelings, though my heart rejoiced in a transport of delight, and 
all the hitherto experienced troubles of the past, even the fears of the 
future, came to an end with the overjoyed present. ITnable to collect 
any plants I hurried back to the others, who were busy opening out the 
tent-cover in between jasrged and pointed rocks covered with lichen, moss 
and fern close by this little Paradise: our ol)ject was to remain here 
until the tj-igonometrical bearings were completed, and the wealth of 
vegetation as far as possilde harvested. 
46G. We found ourselves ß.OOO ft. above sea-level in 5° 9' lat. "NT. and 
r>0° r>7' long. W. : the height to the top of Ro-raima from the camp was still 
2,000 ft., according to a trigonometrical measurement. The meteoro- 
logical instruments, for starting observations from to-day, were soon set 
up, and except for the somewhat unpleasant cold, we felt neither oppres- 
sion nor difficulty in breathing; what was more, the biting insects of the 
low lands liad completely disappeared. 'A view of the valley was still 
denied us owing t(i a thick sea of mist that had already covered it before 
our present elevation had been reached. After pitching our fonts and 
arranninjr all the other things, the naked and shiveinncr Indians built 
their little huts in between the rocky boulders and lighted big fires around 
which they s'nuatted, or else to AA'hich. lying in their hammocks, they 
drew their feet up as closely as possilde. 
467. Towards seven o'clock in the evening the mist turned into a 
pouring rain accompanied by a violent Avind-storm. It was an awful 
uproar A\'lth which the raging storm drove the rain with frightful force 
into our tent, wetted us right through, and made our teeth chatter afresh. 
The thermometer stood at .58° F. The fire could not allay the effects of 
the cutting wind. After lasting an hour the raging storm abated, the 
clouds parted, the sky again became bright and clear, and the moon and 
Nl. 
