1769.

February.

certed, and I believe was about to make an apology for his curiofity, but I prevented him, by Friday 19. defiring that he would make my compliments to his captain, and in return for his obliging civilities prefented him with one of the arrows that had wounded my men, which I immedi ately went into my bed-room to fetch: he followed me, looking about him with great curiofity, as indeed he had done from the time of his first coming on board, and having received the arrow, he took his leave.

After he was gone, and we had made fail, I went upon the deck, where my lieutenant afked me, if my vifitor had entertained me with an account of his voyage. This led me to tell him the general purport of our conversation, upon which he affured me that the tale I had heard was a fiction, for, fays he, the boat's crew could not keep their fecret fo well as their officer, but after a little converfation told one of our people, who was born at Quebec, and spoke French, that they had been round the globe as well as we. This naturally excited a general curiofity, and with a very little difficulty we learnt that they had failed from Europe in company with another fhip, which, wanting fome repair, had been left at the Isle of France; that they had attempted to pass the Streight of Magellan the first fummer, but not being able, had gone back, and wintered in the river De la Plata;

1769.

February.

that the summer afterwards they had been more fuccessful, and having paffed the Streight, fpent two months at the island of Juan Fernandes. Friday 19. My lieutenant told me alfo, that a boy in the French boat faid he had been upon that island two years, and that while he was there, an English frigate put into the road, but did not anchor, mentioning the time as well as he could recollect, by which it appeared that the frigate he had feen was the Swallow. On the boy's being asked how he came to be so long upon the inland of Juan Fernandes, he said that he had been taken upon the Spanish coaft in the West Indies. in a smuggling party, and fent thither by the Spaniards; but that by the French fhip, in whose boat he came on board us, having touched there, he had regained his liberty. After having received this information from my lieutenant, I could eafily account for M. Bougainville's having made a tack to speak to me, and for the conversation and behaviour of my vifitor; but I was now more difpleased at the questions he had afked me than before, for if it was improper for him to communicate an account of his voyage to me, it was equally improper for me to communicate an account of my voyage to him: and I thought an artful attempt to draw me into a breach of my obligation to secrecy, while he impofed upon me by a fiction that he might not violate his own, was neither

0 3

1769. February.

Friday 19.

March. Sunday 7.

neither liberal nor juft. As what the boat's crew told my people, differs in feveral particulars from the account printed by M. Bougainville, I shall not pretend to determine how much of it is true; but I was then very forry that the lieutenant had not communicated to me the intelligence he received, fuch as it was, before my guest left me, and I was now very defirous to speak with him again, but this was impoffible; for though the French fhip was foul from a long voyage, and we had just been cleaned, the fhot by us as if we had been at anchor, notwithstanding we had a fine fresh gale and all our fails fet.

On the 7th of March, we made the Western Inlands, and went between Saint Michael and Tercera; in this fituation we found the variation 13° 36′ W., and the winds began to blow from the S. W. The gale, as we got farther Thurfd. 11. to the weftward, increased, and on the 11th, having got to W. N. W. it blew very hard, with a great fea; we feudded before it with the forefail only, the foot rope of which fuddenly breaking, the fail blew all to pieces, before we could get the yard down, though it was done inftantly. This obliged us to bring the ship to, but having, with all poffible expedition, bent a new forefail, and got the yard up, we bore away again; this was the laft accident that happened to us during the voyage. On the

1769.

March.

Thurfd. 18.

16th, being in latitude 49° 15' N. we got foundings. On the 18th, I knew by the depth of water that we were in the Channel, but the Tuesday 16. wind being to the northward, we could not make land till the next day, when we faw the Star Point; and on the 20th, to our great joy, we anchored at Spithead, after a very fine pafsage, and a fair wind all the way from the Cape of Good Hope.

Friday 19.

Saturd. 20.

A

TA B L

OF THE

E

VARIATION of the COMPASS,

As obferved on board the SWALLOW, in her Voyage round the Globe, in the Years 1766, 1767, 1768, and 1769.

N. B. The days of the month in this Table, are not by the Nautical Ac count, as is the cuftom; but for the convenience of those that are not ufed to that way of reckoning, are reduced to the Civil Account: A. M. denotes, that the obfervation was made in the forenoon, and P. M. in the afternoon, of that day on the noon of which the latitude and longitude of the ship were taken.