trial to the gravity of all on board. It certainly was an instance of
the pursuit of knowledge, or the gratification of curiosity, under
considerable difficulties.

Immediately after breakfast, our friends bade us adieu, and went
ashore in the shore-boat, while we steamed along the north side of the
island, past the splendid cliffs of Buenavista, rising 2,000 feet
sheer from the sea, to Cape Teno, the extreme western point of
Teneriffe. In the distance we could see the Great Canary, Palma, and
Hierro, and soon passed close to the rocky island of Gomera. Here,
too, the dark cliffs, of volcanic form and origin, are magnificent,
and as we were almost becalmed by the high land whilst we sailed along
the north shore of the island, we had ample opportunities of admiring
its rugged beauty. During the night we approached Palma, another large
island of the Canary group, containing one of the most remarkable
_calderas_, or large basins, formed by volcanic action in the world.




CHAPTER III.


PALMA TO RIO DE JANEIRO.

_A wet sheet and a flowing sea,_
_A wind that follows fast_
_And fills the white and rustling sail_
_And bends the gallant mast._