177<5» ROUND THE WORLD. 201 



being hard to say what might have been the conse- 

 quence had it come on while we were on the north 

 coast. This storm was of short duration, for at eight 

 o'clock it began to abate, and at midnight it was little 

 wind. We then took the opportunity to sound, but 

 found no bottom with a line of an hundred and eighty 

 fathoms. 



Next day the storm was succeeded by a thick fog, 

 attended with rain ; the wind veered to N. W., and 

 at five in the morning it fell calm, which continued 

 till eight, and then we got a breeze southerly, with 

 which we stood to the east till three in the afternoon. 

 The weather then coming somewhat clear, we made 

 sail and steered north in search of the land ; but at 

 half past six we were again involved in a thick mist, 

 which made it necessary to haul the wind, and spend 

 the night in making short boards. 



We had variable light airs, next to a calm, and thick 

 foggy weather, till half-past seven o'clock in the even- 

 ing of the 2 c 2d, when we got a fine breeze at N., 

 and the weather was so clear that we could see two 

 or three leagues round us. We seized the opportu- 

 nity, and steered to west; judging we were to 

 the east of the land. After running ten miles to 

 the west, the weather became again i'oggy, and 

 we hauled the wind, and spent the night under 

 top-sails. 



Next morning, at six o'clock, the fog clearing away 

 so that we could see three or four miles, I took the 

 opportunity to steer again to the W., with the wind 

 at E., a fresh breeze ; but two hours after, a thick 

 fog once more obliged us to haul the wind to the 

 south. At eleven o'clock, a short interval of clear 

 weather gave us a view of three or four rocky islets, ex- 

 tending from S.E. to E.N.E., two or three miles dis- 

 tant ; but we did not see the Sugar-loaf Peak before- 

 mentioned. Indeed, two or three miles was the ex- 

 tent of our horizon. 



We were well assured that this was the land we 



