On Leaving The Straits Of Gibraltar, I
Did Not Observe Any Sensible Change On The Ebb And Flow Of The
Sea; but
when we approached Rio Grande, which is eleven degrees to the north of
the equinoctial, we observed a
Considerable tide at the mouth of that
river, and the rise in some places was much the same as on the coast of
Portugal, whereas at the isle of St Thomas it was nearly the same as at
Venice.
The island of St Thomas was discovered above eighty[9] years ago, by some
captains in the royal navy of Portugal, and was altogether unknown to the
ancients. Its horizon or parallel passes at an equal distance between the
arctic and antarctic poles, and its days and nights are always equal. The
arctic polar star is there invisible, but the _guardiani_ are seen in
some measure to revolve, and the constellation which is known by the name
of _il crusero_, is seen in the heavens at a high altitude. To the
eastwards[10] of St Thomas, and at the distance of 120 miles, the small
island called _Il Principe_ is situated. This latter island is inhabited
and cultivated, the produce of its sugar canes belonging to the revenue
of the kings eldest son, from which circumstance the island derives its
name. To the S. S. W. or S. and by W. and in the latitude of almost 2 deg. S.
is the uninhabited island of Annobon, on which numbers of crocodiles and
venomous serpents are found.
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