N1GIIT ON THE PEAK. 
G7 
ie travellers, wlio formerly visited the peak, were English- 
men, iwo inclined rocks form a kind of cavern, which affords 
a shelter from the winds. This point, which is higher than 
the summit of the Canigou, can be reached on the backs of 
mules; and here has ended the expedition of numbers of 
raveilers, who on leaving Orotava hoped to have ascended 
to the brink of the crater. Though in the midst of sum- 
mer, and under an African sky, we suffered from cold during- 
the night. The thermometer descended as low as to five 
degrees. Our guides made a large fire with the dry branches 
ol retama. Having neither tents nor cloaks, we lay down on 
some masses of rock, an.l were singularly incommoded by 
the name and smoke, which the wind drove towards us. We 
had attempted to form a kind of screen with cloths tied 
together, hut our enclosure took fire, which we did not per- 
ceive ti 1 the greater part had been consumed by the flames. 
We bad never passed a night on a point so elevated, and 
1 4 .v lma 8 IL,ecl that we should, one day, on the ridge 
ot the Cordilleras, inhabit towns higher than the summit of 
the volcano we were to scale on the morrow. As the tern- 
perature diminished, the peak became covered with thick 
Clouds The appproach of night interrupts the play of the 
ascending current, which, during the day, rises from the 
plains towards the high regions of the atmosphere; and the 
air, in cooling, loses its capacity of suspending water. A 
strong northerly wind chased the clouds; the moon at 
intervals, shooting through the vapours, exposed its disk on 
a firmament of the darkest blue ; and the view of the volcano 
threw a majestic character over the nocturnal scenery. 
Sometimes the peak was entirely hidden from our eyes by 
he tog, at other tunes it broke upon us in terrific proximity; 
and, like an enormous pyramid, threw its shadow oyer the 
clouds rolling beneath our feet. 
About three in the morning, by the sombrous light of a 
lew fir torches we started on our journey to the summit of 
ie niton. We sealed the volcano oil the north-east side, 
where the declivities are extremely steep; and after two 
These: heights were in 1803, according to M. Cordicr, 19 inches 9-5 lines ; 
?i according to Messrs. Bordi and Varela, 19 inches 9-8 lines; 
height* 1 ° nieter at ^ rotava keeping within nearly a line at the same 
