Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.3)

572 MAURITIUS. May, 1836. intermediate between that of the Galapagos and Tahiti. This is a very exact comparison ; but it will convey a definite idea to few, excepting to those who were on board the Beagle. It is a very pleasant country, but it has not the charms of Tahiti, or the grandeur of a Brazilian landscape. The next day I ascended La Pouce, a mountain so called from a thumb-like projection, which rises close behind the town to a height of 2600 feet. M. Lesson, in the voyage of the Coquille, has stated, that the central plain of the island appeared like the basin of a grand crater, and that La Pouce and the other mountains once formed parts of a connected waU. From our elevated position we enjoyed an excellent view over this great mass of volcanic matter. The country on this side of the island appears pretty well cul- tivated, the whole being divided into fields, and studded with farm-houses. I was however assured, that of the whole land not more than half is yet in a productive state ; if such is the case, considering the present great export of sugar, this island, at some future period when thickly peopled, will be of very great value. Since England has taken possession of it, a period of only twenty-five years, the export of sugar is said to have increased seventy-five fold. One great cause of this prosperity is due to the excellent roads and means of communication throughout the island. At the present day, in the neighbouring Isle of Bourbon, which remains under the French government, the roads are in the same miserable state as they were only a few years past in this place. The Macadamizing art has, perhaps, been of even greater advantage to the colonies, than to the mother country. Although the French residents must have largely profited by the increased prosperity of their island, yet the Enghsh government is far from popular. It is unfortunate that there appears to exist scarcely any inter- course among the higher orders of French and English. May 3d. — In the evening Captain Lloyd, the Surveyor- general, so well known from his examination of the Isthmus of Panama, invited Mr. Stokes and myself to his country-