Sentence:  When I had pass'd the Vale where my Bower stood as above, I came within View of the Sea, to the "West", and it being a very clear Day, I fairly <WSD>descry'd</WSD> Land—whether an Island or a Continent, I could not tell; but it lay very high, extending from the "West" to the "W.S.W." at a very great Distance; 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  To discover (a distant or obscure object) by the eye; to espy; to discern or detect.