ey had
the custom of embalming their dead. The Spaniards made several attempts
to take possession of the islands, but did not succeed in overcoming
their aboriginal inhabitants till about 1493, since which time the
latter have become completely amalgamated with the conquerors.

The group consists of seven islands of volcanic origin. The principal
islands are Teneriffe and Grand-Canaria. Teneriffe is sixty miles long
and thirty broad. The peak, called also the Peak of Teyde, is about the
centre of a dormant volcano nearly 12,000 feet high. Connected with it
are numerous mountain-ridges, out of which sulphuric vapours constantly
ascend, and another crater called Chahorra, close upon 10,000 feet high,
and to the west of it are several cones which were in a state of
eruption in 1798. Surrounding the peak is a plain bordered by
mountain-ridges and covered with pumice stones, the only vegetable which
grows on it being the _retama_. Indeed, only one-seventh of the whole
island is fit for cultivation, the rest being composed of lava and
ashes, or rocky heights and precipitous cliffs. Still, many of the
portions which can be cultivated are of extraordinary fertility; and the
contrast is very great between the richly-cultivated plains and valleys,
and the leafy forests, with the barren, scorched, and burnt sides of the
peak and its surrounding heights. I ought to have said that the houses
of Santa Cruz are of several stories, with the verandahs one above
another, looking into the interior courts, in which grow not only
bananas, but all sorts of tropical shrubs, and fruit, and flower-bearing
plants, in the most luxurious manner.

In speaking of Santa Cruz, I must not forget that it was here one of the
greatest of England's admirals, Nelson, lost his arm; and here alone he
failed of success among the numerous expeditions in which he was
engaged. He commanded a squadron under Lord Saint Vincent, who
despatched him to take Santa Cruz, and to cut out a valuable Spanish
ship, _El Princesse d'Asturias_, from Manilla, bound to Cadiz, which it
was reported had put in there. The first attempt to effect a landing
having failed, Nelson took command of the expedition. The directions
were that all the boats should land at the mole, but the night was very
dark, and the greater number having missed it, were driven on shore
through the surf I have described, and stove, while the admiral, with
only four or five boats, found the mole.