1791. voyage. An Admiralty meflenger prefented me with the latter on fun-
1 _ _ ' ■ day the 20th; but the Chatham did not arrive until the 31ft, when Lieu-
Sunday 20. tenant Broughton, who had orders to put himfelf under my command,
received fuch iignals and inflruftions as were neceffary on this occafion.
He informed me, that they had experienced a very boifterous paflage from
Spithead, and that the Chatham had proved fo very crank, as, in fome
inftances, to occafion confiderable alarm. The length of time I had already
waited for her arrival rendered this intelligence very unpleafant;
as, demanding immediate attention, it would caufe further delay, which
I much wifhed to avoid; efpecially as a favorable gale for clearing the
channel now prevailed. The apprehenfion of further detention by
contrary winds, fhould we lofe the prefent opportunity by breaking up
the Chatham’s hold for the reception of more ballaft, induced me to
refort to another expedient, that of lending her all our fhot, which when
Thurfdayai. flowed amidlhips as low down as poflible, and every weight removed
from above, we flattered ourfelves would be the means o f affording a
April. temporary relief to this inconvenience.
' F r i iy 1 / A gentle breeze from the N .e . at day dawn on ffiday the i l l o f april,
enabled us to fail out of Carrack road; in company with the Chatham;
and at midnight we took a long farewell of our native, fhores. The
Lizard lights bore by compafs N ;N .w . \ w . about eight leagues diftant;
and the wind being in the weftem quarter, we flood to the fouthward.
Saturday 2. Towards the morning of the 2d, on the wind’s Ihifting to thefouth, we
flood to the weftward, clear of the Englilh channel; with minds, it may
eafily be conceived, not entirely free from ferious and contemplative re-
fleftions. The remote and barbarous regions, which were how deftined,
for fome years, to be our tranfitory places o f abode, were not likely to
afford us any means of communicating with our native foil, our families,
our friends or favorites, whom we were now leaving far behind; and
to augment thefe painful refleftions, His Majefty’s proclamation had arrived
at Falmouth, the evening prior to our departure, offering bounties
for manning the fleet; feveral fail of the line were put into commifflon,
and flag officers appointed to different commands: thefe were circum-
ftances fimilar to thofe under which, in augufl, 1776, I had failed
from
from England in the Difcovery, Commanded by Captain Clerke, on a
voyage which in its objeft nearly refembled the expedition we were now
about to undertake. This very unexpended armament could not be regarded
without caufing various opinions' in thofe who, from day to
day, would have opportunities of noticing the feveral meafures inclining
to war or peace ; but to us, deftined, as it were, to a long and remote
exile, and precluded, for an indefinite period o f time, from all chance
o f becoming acquainted with its refult, it was the fource of inexpreffible
folicitude, and our feelings on the occafion may be better conceived
than defcribed.
Having no particular route to the pacific ocean pointed out in my in-
ftruftions, and being left at perfeft liberty to purfue that which appeared
the moft eligible, I did not hefitate to prefer the paflage by way of the
cape o f Good Hope, intending to vifit the Madeiras, for the purpofe
of procuring wine and refreffiments. Our courfe was accordingly fo
direfted againft winds very unfavorable to our wiffies. A t noon on the
3d we reached the latitude of 48° 48' north, longitude, .by the chronometer,
6° 55' weft; where the cloudy weather preventing our making the necef-
fary obfervations on the fun eclipfed produced no fmall degree of concern
; as with the late improvement o f applying deep magnifying powers
to the telefcopes of fextants, the obfervations on folar eclipfes are
rendered very eafy to be made at fea ; and although we were not fortunate
enough on this occafion to procure fuch, at the interefting periods of
the eclipfe, as would have put this improvement fully to the teft, yet
it was evident that thefe obfervations to perfons not much accuftomed to
aftronomical purfuits would be rendered plain and eafy, by the reflefted
image of the fun being brought down to the horizon ; fo that the beginning
and the end of the eclipfe would be afcertained by the help of thefe
deep magnifying telefcopes with great precifion; and probably it may
not be unworthy the attention of the Board o f Longitude to contrive,
and caufe fuch calculations to be publifted, as would tend to render
thefe obfervations generally ufeful in the various parts o f the globe, without
the tedious procefs of calculating eclipfes. The wind, continuing in
the fouthem quarter, rendered our progrels flow; the weather, however,
being
Sunday 3.