NOON IN THE TROPICS. 
19 !) 
•Rfcerior of the group, but in general these mountains, of so 
' v bd an aspect, have not the elevation that is assigned to 
by the missionaries. 
We looked in vain for plants in the clefts of the rocks, 
■which are as steep as walls, and furnish some traces of 
stratification. We found only an old trunk of aubletia,* 
' V| tli large apple-shaped fruit, and a new species of the 
■atniiy of the apocyneae.t All the stones were covered with 
?h innumerable quantity of iguanas and geckos with spread- 
hpg and membranous fingers. These lizards, motionless, 
With heads raised, and mouths open, seemed to suck in the 
heated air. The thermometer placed against the rock rose 
0 50‘2°. The soil appeared to undulate, from the effect ol 
'linage, without a breath of wind being felt. The sun was 
J} e ar the zenith, and its dazzling light, reflected from the sur- 
ace of the river, contrasted with the reddish vapours that 
enveloped every surrounding object. How vivid is '•he im- 
passion produced by the calm of nature, at noon, in these 
wining climates 1 The beasts of the forests retire to the 
tickets ; the buds hide themselves beneath the foliage of 
he trees, or in the crevices of the rocks. Yet, amidst this 
Apparent silence, when we lend an attentive ear to the most 
®6ble sounds transmitted through the air, we hear a dull 
juration, a continual murmur, a hum of insects, fillin g, if 
>L e may use the expression, all the lower strata of the air. 
A othing is better fitted to make man feel the extent and 
power of organic life. Myriads of insects creep upon the 
H and flutter round the plants parched by the heat of the 
• A. confused noise issues from eveiy bush, from the 
^®ayed trunks of trees, from the clefts of the rocks, and 
e °P? the ground undermined by lizards, millepedes, and 
Aiwias. These are so many voices proclaiming to us that 
y 0 hature breathes ; and that, under a thousand different 
ag rrtlS ! life is diffused throughout the cracked and dusty soil, 
' v fH as in the bosom of the waters, and in the air that 
^tes around us. 
. ho sensations which I hero recall to mind are not 
Known, to those who, without having advanced to the 
°f in- ! ^ ave v ' 8 ited Italy, Spain, or Egypt. That contrast 
Motion and silence, that aspect of nature at once cabn ana 
* Aubletia tiburba. f Allamanda salicifoiia. 
