ter forty-eight fathom s. At nine o’clock, having little or
no wind, we hoifted out a boat and fent.on board one o f the
two fhips before m entioned, w hich w ere about tw o leagues
from us ; but we were too im patient after news to regard
the diftance. Soon after, a breeze fprung u p at Weft, w ith
w hich we flood to the South ; and, prefently, three fail m ore
appeared in light to w indw ard, one o f w hich Ihewed E nglilh
colours.
At one P. Mi, the boat returned from on board the Bown-
kerke Polder, Captain Cornelius Bofch, a D utch Indiam an
from Bengal. Captain Bofch, very obligingly, offered us
fugar, arrack, and w hatever he had to fpare. O ur people
w ere told by fome E nglilh feam en on board this Ihip, that
the Adventure had arrived at the Cape o f Good Hope twelve
m onths ago, and that the crew o f one of her boats had been
m urdered and eaten by the people o f New Zealand ; fo that
the ftory w hich we heard in Queen C harlotte’s Sound was
now no longer a myftery.
Sunday J9. had lig h t airs next to a calm till ten o’clock the next
m orning, w hen a breeze fprung u p at Weft, and the E nglilh
fhip, w hich was to w indw ard, bore down to us. She proved
to be the T ru e Briton, Captain Broadly, from China. _ As
h e did not intend to touch at the Cape, I pu t a letter on
board him fo r the Secretary o f the Adm iralty.
T he account w hich we had heard o f the Adventure was
now confirmed to us by this Ihip. We alfo got, from on
board her, a parcel o f old news papers, w hich were new to
us, and gave us fome am u fem en t; bu t thefe were the leaft
favours we received from Captain Broadly. W ith a gene-
rofity peculiar to the com m anders o f the Ind ia'C om p an y’s
lhips,
Sunday 18.
249
fhips, he fent us frelh provifions, tea, and other articles
w hich w ere very acceptable ; and deferve from m e this •-----.----->
public acknow ledgm ent. In the afternoon we parted com - S““day *9’
pany. T he T rue Briton flood out to fea, and we in for the
la n d ; having a very frelh gale at Weft, w hich fplit ou r
fore-top-fail in fuch a m anner, that we were obliged to
bring another to th e yard. At fix o’clock, we tacked w ithin
fo u r or five m iles of the Ih o re ; and, as we judged, about
five or fix leagues to the Eaft o f Cape Aguilas. We flood
olf till m idnight, w hen, the w ind having veered round to the Monday 20.
South, we tacked, and flood along-fhore to the Weft. T he
w ind kept veering m ore and m ore in ou r favour, and at
laft fixed at E. S. E., and blew, for fome hours, a perfect
huyricane.
As foon as the ftorm began to fubfide we m ade fail, and
hauled in for the land. Next day at noon, the T able Moun- Tuefday 21.
tain over the Cape T ow n bore N. E. by E., diftant nine or
ten leagues. By m aking ufe of this bearing and diftance
to reduce the longitude fhew n by the w atch to the Cape
Tow n, the error was found to be no m ore than 18' in longitude,
w hich it was too far to the Eaft. Indeed, the difference
w e found between it and the lunar obfervationsi
fince we left New Zealahd, had feldom exceeded h alf a degree,
and always the fame way.
T he next m orning, being w ith us Wednefday the 22d, bu t Wedncf. 22.
w ith the people here T uefday the 21ft, we anchored in Table
Bay, w here we found feveral D utch fhips ; fome F re n c h ;
and the Ceres, Captain Newte, an E nglilh Eaft India Company’s
fhip, from China, bound diredUy to E ngland, by
w hom I fent a copy o f the preceding parts o f this journal,
fome charts, and other draw ings, to the Admiralty.
V o l . II. K k Before