THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



49 



And this, I apprehend, will generally be the cafe, if you '776. 

 crofs the line 10° or 13° to the Eafl of the meridian of St. 

 Jago- 



From thefe remarks I fliall draw the following conclufion, 

 That, after paffing the Cape de Verde Ifland, if you do not 

 make above 4° or 5° Eafling, and crofs the line in, or to the 

 Weilward of, the meridian of St. Jago, you may expect to 

 find your fhip 3° or 4° to the Weflward of her reckoning, by 

 the time you get into the latitude of 10° South. If, on the 

 other hand, you keep well to the Eaft, and crofs the line 

 if or 20° to the Eaft of St. Jago, you will be then as much 

 to the Eaft of your reckoning ; and the more you keep to 

 the Eaftward, the greater will be your error; as has been 

 experienced by fome India Ihips, whofe people have found 

 themfelves clofe upon the coaft of Angola, when they 

 thought its diftance was above two hundred leagues. 



During the whole of our pafTage from England, no op- 

 portunity was omitted of obferving, with all the attention 

 and" accuracy that circumftances would permit, the variation 

 of the compafs, which I have infer ted in a Table, with the 

 latitude and longitude of the fhip at the time of obfervation. 

 As the longitude may be depended upon, to a quarter or 

 half a degree at moft, this Table will be of ufe to thofe na- 

 vigators who corre(5l their reckoning by the variation. It 

 will alfo enable Mr. Dun to corred his new Variation Chart, 

 a thing very much wanted. 



It feems ftrange to me, that the advocates for the varia- 

 tion lliould not agree amongft themfelves. We find one * of 

 them telling us, as I have already obferved, that ivith ^° Weji 

 yarlation^ or any thing above that, you may venture to fail by the 



* Nichelfon, 



Vol. I. H . Cape 



