1832. DECEPTION — SQUALL — TENERIFKF.. 47 



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. 



At daylight the next morning we saw the Salvages, and at sun- 

 set thought we could distinguish the Peak of Teneriffe. 



Early on the 6th we saw part of the island, and soon after- 

 wards the upper clouds dispersed, and we enjoyed a magni- 

 ficent 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 asso- 

 ciations, and by the descriptions of Humboldt and many dis- 

 tinguished travellers. 



Although some geographers adopted the Peak of Teneriffe 

 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 



