120 cook's voyage to SEPT. 



of falling in with the coast of Brazil in stretching to 

 the S. W., I kept the ship a full point from the wind. 

 However, I found my fears were ill grounded , for on 

 drawing near that coast, we met with the wind more 

 and more easterly ; so that, by the time we were in 

 the latitude of 10 8., we could make a south-easterly 

 course good. 



On the 8th we were in the latitude of 8 57' S.; 

 which is a little to the southward of Cape St. Augus- 

 tine, on the coast of Brazil. Our longitude, deduced 

 from a very great number of lunar observations, was 

 34 16' W.; and by the watch 34 47'. The former is 

 1 43', and the latter 2 14' more westerly than the 

 island of Fernando de Noronha, the situation of which 

 was pretty well determined during my late voyage.* 

 Hence I concluded that we could not now be farther 

 from the continent than twenty or thirty leagues at 

 most ; and perhaps not much less, as we neither had 

 soundings, nor any other signs of land. Dr. Halley, 

 however, in his voyage, published by Mr. Dairy mple, 

 tells ust, that he made no more than one hundred and 

 txvo miles, meridian distance, from the island [Fer- 

 nando de Noronha] to the coast of Brazil; and seems 

 to think that currents could not be the whole cause of 

 his making so little. But I rather think that he was 

 mistaken, and that the currents had hurried him far 

 to the westward of his intended course. This was, in 

 some measure, confirmed by our own observations ; 

 for we had found, during three or four days preceding 

 the 8th, that the currents set to the westward ; and, 



" avoir traverse* l'Equateur, l'ennui inseparable d'une longue na- 

 " vigation, un certain esprit republicain qui regne dans toutes les 

 " petites societes, peut-&tre toutes ces causes reunies, on pu donner 

 " naissance a ces especes de saturnales. Quoiqu'il en soit, elles 

 " furent adoptees, en un instant, dans toutes les nations, et les 

 " hommes les plus eclair&s furent obliges de se soumettre a une 

 " coutume dont ils reconnoissoient l'absurdit^. Car, partout, des 

 " que le peuple parle, il faut que le sage se mette a Funison,'* 

 Histoire awn Voyage aux Isles Malouines, p. 107, 108. 

 * See vol. IV. p. 252. f P. U. 



