s the roar of breakers, and saw long white
lines of surf beating upon the shore. Our athaleb now descended and
alighted; we clambered to the ground, and I, taking the grapple, fixed
it securely between two sharp rocks. We were at last on Magones, the
Island of Fire.

The brightness of the aurora light had left us, but it needed not
this to show us the dismal nature of the land to which we had come.
It was a land of horror, where there was nothing but the abomination
of desolation--a land overstrewn with blasted fragments of fractured
lava-blocks, intermixed with sand, from which there arose black
precipices and giant mountains that poured forth rivers of fire and
showers of ashes and sheets of flame. A tremendous peak arose before
us, with a crest of fire and sides streaked with red torrents of
molten lava; between us and it there spread away a vast expanse of
impassable rocks--a scene of ruin and savage wildness which cannot be
described, and all around was the same drear and appalling prospect.
Here in the night-season--the season of darkness and of awful
gloom--we stood in this land of woe; and not one single sign appeared
of life save the life that we had brought with us. As for food, it was
vain to think of it. To search after it would be useless. It seemed,
indeed, impossible to move from the spot where we were. Every moment
presented some new discovery which added to the horror of Magones.

But Almah was weary, for our flight had been long, and she wished to
rest. So I found a place for her where there was some sand between
two rocks, and here she lay down and went to sleep. I sat at a little
distance off on a shelf of the rock, with my back against it, and
here, after a little time, I also went to sleep.

At length we awoke. But what a waking! There was no morning dawn, no
blessed returning light to greet our eyes. We opened our eyes to the
same scenes upon which we had closed them, and the darkness was still
deep and dense around us. Over us both there was a sense of utter
depression, and I was so deeply plunged into it that I found it
impossible to rouse myself, even for the sake of saying words of cheer
to Almah. I had brought a few fragments of food, and upon these we
made our breakfast; but there was the athaleb to feed, and for him I
found nothing, nor could I think of anything--unless he could feed
upon rocks and sand. Yet food for him was a matter of the highest
consequence, for he was all our support