ing the veffd, o f which he was put in charge to England, and about
fix o’clock on the following evening, with a light breeze of wind from
the s.E., we directed our courfe to the north-weftward, anxioufly looking
forward to that happy hour which Ihould once more land us amongft
our refpe&ive friends, from whofe fociety we had fufifered fo long and fo
painful an abfence.
The weathër continued to be very pleafant, and we made great pro-
grefs to the north-weftward. On faturday the 25th we crofted the equa- Saturday a5.
tor in longitude 21° 35' weft from. Greenwich, where the variation, by ^ ^
two fets of azimuths, was found to be x f 20' weftwardly. From this ,_
time nothing occurred worthy of remark until the jth of auguft ; when Wc<lnef' 5-
one of the Cape de Verd iflands was feen, bearing by compafs N. 16 E.
The weather had continued to be very pleafant, and although the winds,
fince the conclnfion of the preceding month, had veered from the fouth-
eaftern to the weft and north-weftern quarters, yet we had not been prevented
from making our north-wdftern courfe good, agreeably to my
wifhes.
Our people, ever finte our departure from St. Helena, had been oc-
cafionally employed in mending the fails and rigging, and, on all fuitable
opportunities, they had exercifed with the great guns and fmall arms
whilft the extremely pleafant weather which had attended us, had greatly
contributed to our becoming well acquainted with the management of
both.
About four o’clock in the afternoon o f the 20th, three veflels were Thurfdayw.
difcovered to the northward, and at eight in the evening eight fail were
feen from the maft-head, bearing by compafs n. 8o w . All our canvafe
was immediately fpread, in the hope of our being able to overtake them,;
being in great hopes the veflels in fight would prove to be the convoy which
had left the bay of St. Helena on the morning of our arrival there; in the
event of which, I fhould be happy to avail myfelf of the proteftion we
Ihould derive by accompanying fo ftrong a fleet to England. At day-light F r id a y s,
the next morning five Chips only were in fight from the maft-head, but at
feven in the mornihg nine fail of large veflels were fo clearly difcerncd
as to leave -in my mind no doubt of their being a part of the fleet
V o l . III. 3 Q for