About Three In The
Afternoon We Got Off, And Found That Our Boat Sailed Well, And
Would Keep Pretty Close To The Wind.
We got on a good way before
the wind fell and we had to take to our oars again.
We landed on
a nice sandy beach to cook our suppers, just as the sun set
behind the rugged volcanic hills, to the south of the great cone
of Tidore, and soon after beheld the planet Venus shining in the
twilight with the brilliancy of a new moon, and casting a very
distinct shadow. We left again a little before seven, and as we
got out from the shadow of the mountain I observed a bright light
over one part of the edge, and soon after, what seemed a fire of
remarkable whiteness on the very summit of the hill. I called the
attention of my men to it, and they too thought it merely a fire;
but a few minutes afterwards, as we got farther off shore, the
light rose clear up above the ridge of the hill, and some faint
clouds clearing away from it, discovered the magnificent comet
which was at the same time, astonishing all Europe. The nucleus
presented to the naked eye a distinct disc of brilliant white
light, from which the tail rose at an angle of about 30° or 35°
with the horizon, curving slightly downwards, and terminating in
a broad brush of faint light, the curvature of which diminished
till it was nearly straight at the end.
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