rough it, we came into a most
serene heaven, as if we had been above all human conversation, the
mountain appearing more like a great island than joyn'd to any other
hills, for we could perceive nothing but a sea of very thick cloudes
rowling under our feete like huge waves, every now and then suffering the
top of some other mountain to peepe through, which we could discover many
miles off: and betweene some breaches of the cloudes we could see
landskips and villages of the subjacent country. This was one of the
most pleasant, newe, and altogether surprising objects that I had ever
beheld."

In the following interesting account of the ascent of the Peak of
Teneriffe by Captain Basil Hall, it will be seen that heavy rain clouds
may skirt the mountain, while its summit is in a pure and dry air.

"On the 24th of August," he says, "we left Oratava to ascend the
Peak. The day was the worst possible for our purpose, as it rained
hard; and was so very foggy that we could not see the Peak, or indeed
any object beyond one hundred yards distant.

"After riding slowly up a rugged path for four hours, it became
extremely cold, and, as the rain never ceased for an instant, we were
by this time drenched to the skin, and looked with no very agreeable
feelings to the prospect of passing the night in wet clothes. At
length the night began to close in, and the guides talked of the
improbability of reaching the English station before night. It was
still raining hard; but we dismounted, and took our dinner as
cheerfully as possible, and hoping for clearer weather the next day.
On remounting, we soon discovered that the road was no longer so
steep as it had been heretofore, and the surface was comparatively
smooth: we discovered, in short, that we had reached a sort of
table-land, along which we rode with ease. Presently we thought the
fog less dense, and the drops of rain not so large, and the air less
chilling. In about half an hour we got an occasional glimpse of the
blue sky; and as we ascended, (for our road, though comparatively
level, was still upon the rise,) these symptoms became more manifest.
The moon was at the full, and her light now became distinct, and we
could see the stars in the zenith. By this time we had reached the
Llano de los Remenos, or Retamos Plain, which is many thousand feet
above the sea; and we could distinc