20 INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE. 



flection its distance. Presently the sun rose, and 

 purpled the conical head long before he shone on us, 

 or even on the lower ranges of mountains. The 

 well-known comparison by which Columbus is said to 

 have given Queen Isabella an idea of Jamaica, — a 

 sheet of paper crumpled up tightly in the hand, and 

 then partially stretched out, — occurred to me, and I 

 could not but admire its striking appropriateness. 

 The oblique rays of the sun showed out the alternate 

 hollows and ridges in vivid distinctness, and gradually 

 raised thin white mists from the former, which soon 

 grew into clouds, and spread themselves about the 

 summits and sides of the higher mountains, until 

 these were quite veiled, except where dark portions 

 were here and there revealed through openings, like 

 great rents in a garment. 



The city of Kingston, with its steeples and white 

 houses, was visible from the rigging, over the long 

 low spit of sand called the Palisades, on the point of 

 which we could see the collection of hovels known as 

 Port Royal, with the masts of a line-of-battle ship 

 towering above them. 



By and by black specks appeared upon the shining 

 sea as suddenly as if they had just emerged from its 

 depths, each of which we understood to be the canoe 

 of a fisherman, engaged in examining the wicker 

 " pots" or traps, which had lain all night upon the 

 bottom, or else in the more active employment of 

 fishing with the hook and line. One of these tiny 

 specks pulled out to us, and as she lay alongside, I 

 observed with delight the brilliant colours and strange 

 forms of the fishes that had just been caught ; among 



