Page:The Present State of Peru.djvu/261

Rh of my voyage perished, I alone having been enabled to reach the shore of an unknown island. As soon as I had set my foot on ground, I perceived that my clothes, which were before dripping with moisture, had become dry. I received a new vigour in every part of my body; and an enthusiasm, such as I had not hitherto felt, took possession of my soul. Encouraged by this invisible aid, which appeared to me nothing less than divine, I penetrated into the interior of the island. On reaching the summit of a small hill by which the sea-shore was bounded, what an enchanting spectacle presented itself to my view! I discovered a vast plain overshadowed by luxuriant palms and aged oaks, having its surface enamelled by the most beautiful produ6lions of Flora, and intersected by a small river, the crystal waters of which afforded a sight of the golden sands that covered the bottom. A chain of mountains, whose lofty summits were hidden in the clouds, terminated the horizon, and gave to the whole of the scene a majestic and sublime perspective. The sweet chirping of the birds, the breath of a soothing zephyr, and the soft murmur of the waters of the river, occasionally interrupted, and rendered less gloomy, the profound silence which prevailed throughout this fortunate island. The aspect of so delightful a region recalled to my recolle6tion what I had read of the Elysian Fields, and what I had seen in some parts of Peru, at the same time that the territory which lay before me appeared to me to be the particular abode of a divinity. Already I had ceased to have any remembrance of the shipwreck, of my country, and even of my own existence.

Absorbed in the contemplation of so many beauties, I observed a venerable old man, clad like the Goths our ancestors, approach