The Carlisle independent., 1909-07-15
Tenerifei


 What delightful memories crowd in- to my mind as l write the name of that beauty spot in the Canaries, for the recollection of the six weeks I spent there will always be an abiding one with me.
 In campaigning one naturally ex- poets things to go awry, but when holiday-making one demands that ev erything shall go smoothly. Happily for me all did go well-from the mo- ment I went by the London and North Westerns famous $50 to Liv- erpool, until I disembarked from the steamer at Santa Cruz where l was met by my friend Adamson, repre- senting Messrs. Hamilton. Thus I set foot Gn the Fortunate Islands of the ancients, those isles whose beauty brought to them the name ap- a myth-the Fortunate Islands, Is- lands of the Blest.or Happy Islands. set in the western ocean, on which the souls of the blest were made happy. And very glad I was that jealousy of the charms of the place is not as great now as it was when the men of the fleet of Carthage, under Himilco, found them so delightful, and described them in such glowing language, that the sen- ate, fearing a general exodus from Carthage, forbade any to visit the Fortunate Islands on pain of death. lest, seeing them, many should be tempted to- stay on them.
 Apropos of the healthiness of the climate, I may remark on it's eqnable nature, for during a whole year the maximum temperature was S4 deg. in August, and the minimum 55 deg. in February and March, while there thermometer to produce so many of the illnesses which are due to this cause at home.
 Many lines of steamers call at San ta Cruz, so that the pleasure-seeker finds Teneriffe almost as easy of ac- cess as any of the near continental cities, while so pleasant are the con- ditions of the voyage that it might easily be regarded as yachting trip.
 Santa Cruz itself is one of the most delightful places in which anyone can desire to spend holiday, for 1t is picturesque full of handsome balcon- ies and quaint hooks and corners, while the "view-towers" placed on the roofs prevent uniformity in the ar chitecture. This beautiful town has been the capital of the Canaries since 1921, and this year celebrates its jubilee as a city. Were l dis posed to do so, could write with en- thusiasm of the churches, squares, and gardens, the many public bufid- ings, to say nothing of the pleasure excursions which may be made by &eans of the electric-tramway or eth
 sodes of conveyance.
 fhe city contains many matters of historical interest to the Englishman. One of the most striking is undoubt- edly that connected with Nelson, who attacked the city in July 1797, and met with the only defeat recorded in his career. Santa Cruz is remark able. too for the fact that it was here that Nelson's arm was shattered by a cannon-ball. Having anchored some two miles of the town on July 24, he made a fesnt to draw the gar rison away from ahe fort, and at mid night some seven hundred men in boats were directed against the Mole, where they arrived within half gun shot before the enemy discovered them.
 Forty guns at once opened fire. The cutter. containing some two hun dred men and several boats. was sunk. and many of the other boats were