The reef-constructing corals have indeed reared and
preserved wonderful memorials of the subterranean oscillations of
level; we see in each barrier-reef a proof that the land has there
subsided, and in each atoll a monument over an island now lost. We
may thus, like unto a geologist who had lived his ten thousand
years and kept a record of the passing changes, gain some insight
into the great system by which the surface of this globe has been
broken up, and land and water interchanged.
(PLATE 100. BIRGOS LATRO, KEELING ISLAND.)
CHAPTER XXI.
(PLATE 101. ST. LOUIS, MAURITIUS.)
MAURITIUS TO ENGLAND.
Mauritius, beautiful appearance of.
Great crateriform ring of mountains.
Hindoos.
St. Helena.
History of the changes in the vegetation.
Cause of the extinction of land-shells.
Ascension.
Variation in the imported rats.
Volcanic bombs.
Beds of infusoria.
Bahia, Brazil.
Splendour of tropical scenery.
Pernambuco.
Singular reef.
Slavery.
Return to England.
Retrospect on our voyage.
APRIL 29, 1836.
In the morning we passed round the northern end of Mauritius, or
the Isle of France. From this point of view the aspect of the
island equalled the expectations raised by the many well-known
descriptions of its beautiful scenery.
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