VOYAGE TO ALGEEIA. 147 



>n we accomplished sixty-six miles, or an average of 

 than three miles an hour. I overheard the sailors 

 talking about this storm. The ' Urgent,' according to 

 those that knew her, had never previously experienced 

 anything like it. 1 



All through Saturday the wind, though somewhat 

 sobered, blew dead against us. The atmospheric effects 

 were exceedingly fine. The cumuli resembled moun- 

 tains in shape, and their peaked summits shone as white 

 as Alpine snows. At one place this resemblance was 

 greatly strengthened by a vast area of cloud, uniformly 

 illuminated, and lying like a neve below the peaks. 

 From it fell a kind of cloud-river strikingly like a 

 glacier. The horizon at sunset was remarkable spaces 

 of brilliant green between clouds of fiery red. Rain- 

 bows had been frequent throughout the day, and at 

 night a perfectly continuous lunar bow spanned the 

 heavens from side to side. Its colours were feeble ; 

 but, contrasted with the black ground against which it 

 rested, its luminousness was extraordinary. 



Sunday morning found us opposite to Lisbon, and 

 at midnight we rounded Cape St. Vincent, where the 

 lurching seemed disposed to recommence. Through 

 the kindness of Lieutenant Walton, a cot had been 

 slung for me. It hung between a tiller-wheel and a 

 flue, and at one A.M. I was roused by the banging of the 

 cot against its boundaries. But the wind was now 

 behind us, and we went along at a speed of eleven knots. 

 We felt certain of reaching Cadiz by three. But a new 

 lighthouse came in sight, which some affirmed to be 

 Cadiz Lighthouse, while the surrounding houses were de- 

 clared to be those of Cadiz itself. Out of deference to 





1 There is, it will be seen, a fair agreement between these im- 

 pressions and those so vigorously described by a scientific corre- 

 spondent of the ' Times.' 



