PROFESSOR SMITHS JOURNAL. 2.: 



•JO 



vessels proceeding with a brisk and cool westerly wind. 

 We are now at the distance of 14 to lo k'agues only iioni 

 the coast of Africa. Should the wind continue as it is, we 

 shall soon reach the latitude of Cape Palnms, and probably 

 then be out of this hot and tedious pacific ocean, and ap- 

 proach the line, when, I suppose we shall have to go 

 through the usual ceremony of being shaved by Neptune. 

 Our whole party continues to be cheerful and agreeable. 

 Poor Cranchjs almost too much the object of jest. Galwey 

 is the principal banterer. 



April 30. To day we had the most violent squall we 

 yet liad witnessed, and the Captain himself owned that he 

 had never seen a horizon so dark as that, towards which 

 we were now sailing this afternoon. At the horizon flashes 

 of lightning crossed each other in the deep darkness, 

 which soon surrounded us. The rain, falling in torrents, 

 and accompanied by flashes of lightning in rapid succes- 

 sion, approached us. We could no longer gaze at this 

 dreadful pha^nomenon, but were obliged to retreat into the 

 cabin. After somewhat more than the half of the squall 

 had passed us, we ventured up again, and enjo3^ed the 

 most sublime scene of the whole heaven beautifully illumi- 

 nated bv flashes of liohtnino-. It o-enerallv darted forth 

 from two points, now rising like spouts of water, now run- 

 ning in zigzag, and spreading itself into innumerable 

 branching shapes. No lightning I had seen in Europe 

 bore any resemblance to this. 



From the third to the tenth of May we had a southerly 

 wind, that carried us far into the Bay of Guinea. Innu- 



