An opinion commonly entertained in Mauritius, that hurricanes are little to be apprehended except near the time of full moon, does not seem to be well founded.  In 1805 indeed, there was a heavy gale on April 14 and 15, a few days after the full; but the first of the two hurricanes abovementioned took place a day or two before the new moon, and the middle of the second within twenty-four hours of the last quarter; whence it should appear that the hurricanes have no certain connexion with the state of this planet.  January, February, and March are the months which excite the most dread, and December and April do not pass without apprehension; for several years, however, previously to 1805, no hurricane had been experienced; and the inhabitants began to hope, that if the clearing of the country caused a dearth of rain at some times of the year, it would also deliver them from these dreadful scourges; for it was to the destruction of the woods that the dryness of preceding years and the cessation of hurricanes were generally attributed.

On the 21st, His Majesty’s ship Russel came off the island upon a cruise, and chased into Port Louis La Piemontaise, a French frigate which had sailed from Europe in December.  By this opportunity a confirmation of some, and an account of other victories gained over the Austrians were received, as also of the great naval action off Cape Trafalgar; the bulletins of the former were inserted in the gazette of the island, but except a report from the officers of Le Redoubtable, not a word of the naval action; amidst such events as these, the misfortunes of an individual must be very striking to occupy even a thought.

In a visit to M. Plumet, and to M. Airolles, the proprietor of an extensive plantation called Menil, in his neighbourhood, I had an opportunity of seeing a rivulet, which for some distance runs under ground.  The bed of this stream resembled a work of art, seeming to have been nicely cut out of the solid rock; and close by the side of it was a cavern, containing layers of a ferruginous stone like lava; their combined appearance excited an idea that the canal might have been once occupied by a vein of iron ore, which being melted by subterraneous fire, found an exit, and left a place for the future passage of the waters.  About one mile from hence, and in a more elevated situation, is a large and deep hole, of a form nearly approaching to a perfect circle, and its upper part occupying, according to M. Airolles, the place of seventeen arpents of land; I judged it to be two hundred feet deep, and that the loose stones in its bottom formed a flat of four or five acres, the angle of descent being nearly equal on all sides.  The stones around, and at the bottom of this vast pit are more honeycombed than is usual in other parts, and much resemble those of the Grand Bassin, of whose nature they seemed to partake in other respects.