CHAPTER LXXI.
SKETCHES AT SEA—MOUNTAINS OF AFRICA—THE FAREWELL.
"An adieu should in utterance die,
Or if written but faintly appear;
Only heard in the burst of a sigh,
Or seen in the drop of a tear."
The Buffalo—The Quoin—Cape Aguilhas—Hangclip—Capo-del-Tornados—Robbin
Island—Table Bay—Cape Town—Green Point—The Lion Mountain—St.
Helena—Flying-fish—Blue-fish—Island of Ascension—Funeral at
Sea—A Sailor's Grave—A Chinese Calculation—Waterspouts—The Western
Isles—St. Michael's—Pico—Fayal—Christmas Eve—The good Ship
"Essex"—Arrival in England—The Pilgrim's Adieu.
1845, Oct. 29th.—At 9 A.M. I was called on deck to look at the mountains of Africa. The Buffalo, or rather its high peak, soared black and distinct over the white clouds that rolled below, covering the whole length of the mountains: here and there a summit might be distinguished, and the land and hummocks below the clouds were tolerably clear. The sky was of the brightest, purest tint of cobalt blue, the white clouds were crossing it in all directions; the clouds themselves were borne along by the wind to the right, while their tops were carried back towards the left, as if they encountered a contrary current of air aloft. Soon after I had sketched the Buffalo's most peculiar black peak, a mist spread over the mountains, the wind changed, we went further out to sea, and the line of mountains became too indistinct to afford subject for the pencil. The deep sea line brought up small shells in considerable quantity.
