13 DECEMBER 1890, Page 24

Tenerife. By George W. Strettel. (Fisher Unwin.)—So much that is

extravagant, says Mr. Strettel, has been said about the climate and scenery of Teneriffe, that he considers himself bound to place the true facts before the public. This he does frankly, analysing his own personal experiences of twenty months (a table of meteorological observations is given). He is perhaps too much engaged in knocking down the fabric which enthusiastic tourists have raised, to pay as much attention as he might have done to the different stations and their value. Nevertheless, he gives us a clear notion of what the climate and the weather, taken all round and from day to day, are like (a little more detail here, for English readers at least, would not have been out of place) ; the suitability of different places for different invalids, and some most useful hints on the accommodation, the travelling, and how things in general, and Teneriffe servants in particular, are to be managed. He describes the scenery and flora of the island suc- cinctly, and prepares the mind of the intending visitor so that the least possible disappointment may be felt. We think Mr. Strettel has gone the right way to work, for he paints the climate in its true colours, which, indeed, are warm and glowing. The inhabitants, one is often told, ca,unot and do not work, and are yet honest; and some people hold that that is the only test of a perfect climate.