5 4 *
jakJIm. almoft conftantly enjoyed mild eafy weather, and failed in
fight of lands, which were never fo wretchedly deftitute as
not to afford them refrefhments from time to time. Such
a voyage would have been merely a party of pleafure to
ns ; continually entertained with new and often agreeable
objects, our minds would have been at eafe, our converfa-
■ tion cheerful, our bodies healthy, and our whole fituation
ftefirable and happy. Ours was juft the reverfeof this; our
fouthern cruizes were uniform and tedious in the higheft
degree ; the ice, the fogs, the ftorms and ruffled furface of
-the fea formed a difagreeable fcene, which was feldom
cheered by the reviving beams of the fun; the climate was
rigorous and our food deteftable. In fhort, we rather vegetated
than lived ; we withered, and became indifferent to
all that animates the foul at other times. We faerificed
our health, our feelings, our enjoyments, to the honour of
purfuing a track unattempted before. This was indeed as
the poet fays,
■ ■ " 1 ■ 1 ■ propter vitam vivendi perdere caufas. J u venal.
The crew were as much diftrefled as the officers, from
another caufe. Their bifcuit, which had been forted at
New Zeeland, baked over again, and then packed up, was
now in the fame decayed ftate as before. This was owing
partly to the revifal, which had been fo rigorous, that
many a bad bifcuit was preferved among thofe that were
eatable, and partly to the negleft of the calks, which had
not been fufficiently fumigated and dried. Of this rotten
bread the people only received two thirds of their ufual
allowance, from' ceconomical principles ; but, as that portion
is hardly fufficient, fuppofing it to be all eatable, it
was far from being fo when nearly one half of it was rotten.
However, they continued in that diftrefsful fituation
till this day, when the firft mate came to the captain and
complained-bitterly that he and the people had not wherewith
to- fatisfy the cravings of the ftomach, producing, at
the fame time, the rotten and ftinking remains of his bifcuit.
Upon this the erew were put to full allowance.
The captain feemed to recover again as we advanced to the
fouthward, but all thofe who were afflicted with rheuma-
tifms continued as much indifpofed as ever.
The firft ice iftands which we met with on this run were
in 62° 30' foutb, on the 20th, but they did not accumulate
in number in proportion to our prógrefs, fo that we:
croffed the antarftic circle again on the 26 th, without feeing
more than a few folitary pieces. On that day we were
amufed with the appearance of land ; for after Handing on,
towards it for fbme hours, it vanilhed.in clouds. The next,
day, at noon, we were in 67 52 fouth yconfequently to the
fouthward of any of our former tracks, and met with no
ice to flop us. The blue petrels, the little ftorm petrels,
and the pintadas ftill accompanied us, but albatrofies bad:
left us fome time ago. We were now once more, in the.
’773- January,
Thurfday 2 ©5
Wednefd.- 2$,
Tliurfday