1787- King George laying near two miles from us, we hove up our,anchor
in tiie morning of the 28th, and after making a few boards,, came
to .with our belt bower, in twenty-feven fathom water, over a bottom
of fand, mixed with coral, about two miles diftant from Ihore,.
and at a convenient djftance from the King George. Our fears
for Captain Portlock during the gale, were but too well founded ■ „
he had been reduced to the neeeffity of cutting his cables, and running
to fea; and though he embraced the mod favourable opportunity
of doing this, yet he had barely room to weather the breakers
at the North point of the bay. This was a moft ftriking leffon.
for us, in regard to our future conduct, and pointed.to us. the ma-
nifeft impropriety of murmuring at— may I be. allowed to fay.?—
the difpenfations of Providence!— Had we been fortunate enough
to have made Yam-Bay at the time the King George did, ’tis im-
pollible to fay what our fituation would have been, or where we
might have drove, when neeeffity forced us to quit it: bat few of
us were philofophers enough to acknowledge with the Poet, that
“ The ways of Heaven are dark and intricate,.
“ Puzzl’d in mazes and perplex’d in errors,.
“ Our underftanding traces ’em in vain, .
“ Loft and bewilder’d in the fruitlefs fearch;
* “ Nor fees with how much art the windings
<c Nor where the regular confufion ends.”
’Tis impoffible for me, when rircumftanees of this fort are
immediately before my eyes, to avoid moralizing in fome degree,
cfpecially when I meet with a let of men who attribute any fuppofed
evil that befals them to mifconduB-, any temporary fuccefs to good-
fortune, entirely forgetting, that ’tis a gracious Providence who
“ directs, impels, and rules the whole.”
I ffiall therefore, in future, make no kind of apology for digref- 17117.
lions of this fort, however foreign they -may be to my narration, as u
I am fenlible thou wilt make every kind of allowance for the imperfections
of thy allured friend,
r W. B.
ONEEHOW, I
29th Jan. 3
l e t t e r , XXV.
IN' the afternoon of the 28th of January, the wind veered to the-
Weftward, blowing a freffi breeze ; this made us apprehend’
a return of unfettled weather, and experience having taught us,,
that there was no laying here with a Wefterly wind, it was
determined to get to lea, Ihould the breeze continue fiom that
quarter.
On the 29th, abouttwo o’clock, the wind Hill Wefterly, Captain
Portlock made the fignal for Weighing anchor: by three we made
fail, and flood along the coaft, intending to ftretch well to the:
Southward and Eaftward, that at all events, we might keep clear of.
the land.
During the goth, the weather was tolerably fine, and the wind
ffiifting to North Weft, it was judged proper to make Wymoa-Bay,
Atoui, which we did, and came to anchor about eleven o clock,
about two miles to the Eaftward of our old fituation, in twentyfive'