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1832. DECEPTION SaUALI . T EN E I I IF F E . 47
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the vessel’s distance from the shore, and not taking time to
sound accurately.
Closing the land quickly after passing some time at sea—
approaching high cliffs, or hilly shores, after being, for a time,
accustomed to low coasts—or nearing a flat shore, after the eye
has been used to precipices and mountains—almost always is a
cause of error in estimating distance, however experienced a
seaman may be.
While passing at a few leagues from the land, a violent
squall came from the west, which was near doing damage;
after one puff there was a short calm, with heavy rain, and
then a sudden blast struck the ship so violently that we were
obliged to take in all sail and run before it during the few
minutes it lasted. This squall was one of very many which
have reminded me of the old doggrel lines—
When rain comes before the wind.
Halyards, sheets, and braces mind:
But if wind comes before rain,
Set and trim your sails again.
A t daylight the next morning we saw the Salvages, and at sunset
thought we could distinguish the Peak of Teneriffe.
Early on the 6th we saw part of the island, and soon afterwards
the upper clouds dispersed, and we enjoyed a magnificent
view of the monarch of the Atlantic ; the snow-covered
peak glittering in the rays of the morning sun. Yet as our
ideas are very dependent upon comparison, 1 suppose that
persons who have seen the Himalaya Mountains, or the Andes,
in all their grandeur, would not dwell much upon the view
of Teneriffe, had it not become classical by its historical associations,
and by the descriptions of Humboldt and many distinguished
travellers.
Although some geographers adopted the Peak of Tenerifte
as a zero point from which to reckon longitude, I am free to
say, that a less satisfactory one could hardly have been selected ;
because there are no means of connecting the position of the
peak with that of the observer, whether on the shore of the
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