hyr is
succeeded by a calm of several hours. The atmosphere is heavy and
oppressive, and the body, weakened by perspiration, becomes languid;
the appetite fails, and the mosquitos, buzzing about the ears by day
and night, perplex and annoy by their stings, while the fevers of the
tropics attack Europeans with sudden and irresistible violence. This
is the most sickly season for the European. The thermometer frequently
exceeds 90 deg. The clouds exhibit a menacing appearance, portending
the approach of the heavy autumnal rains, which pour down like
a deluge. About the middle of September it appears as if all the
vapors of the ocean had accumulated in one point of the heavens. The
rain comes down like an immense quantity of water poured through a
sieve; it excludes from the view every surrounding object, and in
half an hour the whole surface of the earth becomes an immense sheet
of water. The rivers are swollen and overflow their banks, the low
lands are completely inundated, and the smallest brooks become deep
and rapid torrents.

In the month of October the weather becomes sensibly cooler than
during the preceding months, and in November the north and northeast
winds generally set in, diffusing an agreeable coolness through the
surrounding atmosphere. The body becomes braced and active, and the
convalescent feels its genial influence. The north wind is accompanied
(with few exceptions) by heavy showers of rain on the north coast;
and the sea rolls on that coast with tempestuous violence, while the
south coast remains perfectly calm.

When the fury of the north wind abates, it is succeeded by fine
weather and a clear sky. Nothing can exceed the climate of Porto
Rico at this season; one can only compare it to the month of May in
the delightful Province of Andalusia, where the cold of winter and
the burning heat of summer are tempered by the cool freshness of
spring. This is considered to be the healthiest season of the year,
when a European may visit the tropics without fear.

The small islands, destitute of wood and high mountains, which have a
powerful effect in attracting the clouds, suffer much from drought. It
sometimes happens that in Curacao, St. Bartholomews, and other islands
there are whole years without a drop of rain, and after exhausting
their cisterns the inhabitants are compelled to import water from
the rivers of other islands.

"The land breeze" is an advantage which the large islands derive
from the