When approaching the anchorage
there was one striking view: an irregular castle perched
on the summit of a lofty hill, and surrounded by a few scattered
fir-trees, boldly projected against the sky.
The next day I obtained lodgings within a stone's throw
of Napoleon's tomb; [1] it was a capital central situation,
whence I could make excursions in every direction. During
the four days I stayed here, I wandered over the island from
morning to night, and examined its geological history. My
lodgings were situated at a height of about 2000 feet; here
the weather was cold and boisterous, with constant showers
of rain; and every now and then the whole scene was veiled
in thick clouds.
Near the coast the rough lava is quite bare: in the central
and higher parts, feldspathic rocks by their decomposition
have produced a clayey soil, which, where not covered by
vegetation, is stained in broad bands of many bright colours.
At this season, the land moistened by constant showers,
produces a singularly bright green pasture, which lower and
lower down, gradually fades away and at last disappears. In
latitude 16 degs., and at the trifling elevation of 1500 feet,
it is surprising to behold a vegetation possessing a character
decidedly British.
