Welsh Journals

0ttufoarfr Dannfr. AN IRREGULAR JOURNAL,. Vol. II. SOBRAON, SATURDAY, APRIL 22nd, 1882. No. 2. Bubbles round the keel show the vessel moves.—Mrs. Browning. " High over many a towering state Stands St. Helena's name." For a long time we had been looking forward with feelings of peculiar, interest to our visit to St. Helena, and on April 8th, at grey dawn, we found ourselves beneath the shadow of Barn Ridge which rises abruptly out of the sea to the height of 2,272 feet. Beyond, the cone of the Sugar Loaf (1,960 feet) blended with the morning mists which were already creeping down the ravines, chased by the morning sun. We had been told that the aspect of the island when first approached was of a forbidding character. We do not think so. We deem its brown denuded rocky coast altogether of the picturesque and awe-inspiring kind. Jamestown, the capital, is situated at the base of a ravine, and is flanked on either side by bare precipitous ridges of over 1,000 feet high. The town can scarcely boast of a single good building, and the Post Office is, we should think, unique among government offices. The first object of attraction is Jacob's Ladder, with its 700 steps, up which many a Sobraonite might be seen puffing and sweating, and looking as queer as a boiled lobster. Having speedily "done" all the sights of the capital, we made up our minds " to gang (on foot) to a far country, may be sax miles aff," to visit what Napoleon called " the most uninhabitable spot on this inhospitable island, where I, who used to ride all over Europe, have been obliged to shut myself up within four walls." Proceed¬ ing along the winding ascent, with Jamestown on our right, we soon gain the summit of the ridge. For two-thirds of the way the cactus thickly covered the hill-side, pretty much as the gorse does some of the hills of Wales. The prickly pear was ready to our hand in any quantity, but not to our taste. Higher up we passed two pretty villas, with extensive grounds enclosed by aloes —the most formidable fence imaginable. We are now on what we may call the island plateau, which is scooped in all directions by gorges, which get deeper and deeper as they near the coast. The S.E. Trade wind brings clouds, which condense on this higher ground, and the centre of the island is consequently clothed with the richest verdure. The rock composing St. Helena is volcanic, and the island is traversed from East to West by a mountain range 2,700 feet at the highest peak.