be described as a perpetual spring and summer, with a sky nearly always
serene, and of a beautiful azure blue, veiled with soft and fleecy
clouds.

Thanks to the lofty walls of the crater, which penetrate the clouds and
condense their moisture, the land is watered with many streams. These
flow into the central lake, which discharges into the surrounding ocean
by a rift or chasm in the mountain side. Moreover, there are frequent
showers, and heavy dews by night, to refresh the surface of the ground.
Thunderstorms occur on the tops of the mountain and in the open sea;
but very seldom within the enchanted girdle of the crater. The air is
remarkably pure, sweet, and exhilarating, owing doubtless to the high
percentage of oxygen it contains, and the absence of foreign matter,
such as microbes, dust, and obnoxious fumes. In fact, we all felt a
distinct improvement in our health and spirits, a kind of mental
intoxication which was really more than a rejuvenescence. Nor was the
heat very trying, even in the middle of the day, because although the
sun was twice as large as on the earth, he did not rise far above the
horizon, and cooling breezes blew from the chilled summit of the cliffs.
The vegetation seems to go on budding, flowering, and fruiting
perpetually, as in the Elysian Fields of Homer, where

"Joys ever young, unmixed with pain or fear,
Fill the wide circle of the eternal year:
Stern winter smiles on that auspicious clime
The fields are florid with unfading prime;
From the bleak Pole no winds inclement blow,
Mould the round hail, or flake the fleecy snow;
But from the breezy deep the blessèd inhale,
The fragrant murmurs of the western gale."