t f»9. when it is abréaft the foremoftnndof the meafored dif-
;October. tail^e , an{j coxmt half fecorids :till; the mark, of froth, is >-
breaft the after end. With the number' of; half’ feconds
thus obtained,' they''divide;the number 48, taking the pro-
du6t for the rate of. failing'iri,^geographical -miles in’ one
i- hour, or the number of Hutch miles in four hours.
It is’notufual to make any allowance to the fun’s , declina- .
tion, on accounFofiieing oh a different imeridian from that
for which the tables areiealcUlatedtthey in general, com-
pute with the numbers .juft as theyare-foupfd ip th e table*
From all this, it is not difficult to conceive the .reafon why
, the Dutch are frequently above ten degrees out in their
reckoning. Their paffages likewifeare confiderablylengthened,
by not carrying a fufficient quantity of fail.
December r6. *pbcember the 16th, in the afternoon, we anphoreddn Tar
o « em b e r i 7, ble Bay. The next mornings I went on ffiore, ,and waitecl
on his"excellency.Mi Vander Grscaf,.who;received im in tbe
moft politeand Friendly mariner. :The GriardiaV, commanded
by Lieutenant Rieu, had left the Gape about-eight. 4ays
before, with cattle and ftoFesfqr Port Jackfoa. /This day,/
anchored in Table Bay, the Aftrée, a French frigatf, commanded
by the Count deSt. Rivel, from the I fie of France,
on board of which fhip was the J ate .governor, tbq Qhqvalier
1 d’Entrecaftfeaux. Other fhips that arrived during my ftay
at the Cape, wer.e, a French 40 gun frigate,' ;arir: E^ft In-;
dia fhip,; and a ’brig,/of the fame nation: like,wife.-(two
Other French fhips, with flaves, from the coaft o f Mpfam-
bique, bound to thé Weft Indies: a Dutch packet from
Europe, after a four months paffage: ,and the Ilarpy, a
South Sea Whaler, with 500 barrels, of fpermaceti, and
400 of feal, and other oils. . There is a Handing, order
from the Dutch Eaft India Company, that no .perfon who
7 jfpVpg a paffage from Batavia for Europe, in. any of their
fhips.
fliipS, fhall ¥e allowed to leave the fhip before fhe arrives
at her. ihtended'.port-, According .do which regulation, I u—v— j
muftbhsfve gone to. Holland in the packets. Of this, ;I -was .
not informed till I .was- taking leiyeaof the governor-
general, at Batavia, w h en it Was-too late .for. him to give -
the'Captain; arfi order to permit me. tp land in the channel*
•He;-however defired I would make ufe*qf .his name to governor
i Vadder-iGraaf, t.whcr readily,.-cpmpied with my re-
iquefty.and gave the rieceflary'orderj to the Captain of the
packer afbopy of |which h^ 'excellency ga'ye.to at
th e 'fame time^reeommdndatQryde|tdr§t to people offcopfe-
quence in.Holland, in^eafolihoukl'H obliged* to proceed
.fofar. ' ■
left a dettfertat.the Capji'of Good Hope,,to be forwarded
to govefnorfPhillips, at Port Jackfon^by the firft opportunity
; containing aifhort account ,of>my*tVoyagej),wi tp a
dffciaptivedift of th e pirates?: and from Batavia I‘had written
to. Lord Corn walks i^fp that»every part of India Will he
prepared to receive jthemff;. » ?: '.'?•*;* b .
We Tailed from the Cape, in company with the Aftfoe Saturday»
French frigate. The next- morning, neither fhip nor land
were in bght.; On the 15th, we paffed in fight o f the ifland
~gt. Helena. The 21ft, we faw the ifland Afcenfion. On
the iofh of Februc%,Hho wind Being at N E, blowing, ,
frefh, our fails .were edvered with a fine' orange-coloured
fluff. Fuegoj the wefternmoft of tlip Cape dp ¥erd iflands,
and the neareft land to us, on that'dayt^ noon bore N E
by E § E, diftance .140 leagues! When we had paffed' the
latitude of the Weftem iflands, a look-out was kept for
fome rocks, which Captain Couvfet had been informed lay
in latitude 44* 25' N,, and 20 50' eaft longitude from the
eaft end of St.-,Michael. This information, Captain Cott- .
vret had received from a perfon that he knew, and who
§ . w »