IS FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS 



high waves, to fetch this prize for our collection 

 of natural history. During the night we kept our 

 station under a few sails : a serene horizon is very 

 rare in these parts, a thick fog always seems to 

 rest on it. 



The 4th. Latitude 9° 43', longitude 189° 53' . 

 I intended to remain only for to-day in these 

 parts : at break of day I caused all the sails to be 

 set to follow the course to W. by S. till noon, and 

 then tack to S.E. A fresh wind from N.N. E. 

 favoured our course j the Rurick ran seven knots ; 

 it was near noon, and our hope had almost sunk, 

 when we suddenly heard the joyful news from the 

 mast-head that land was seen to the S. by W. At 

 one o'clock, we could already see from the quarter- 

 deck, at a distance of six miles, a chain of small 

 woody islands, the spaces between which were 

 filled up by reefs ; they extended as far as the 

 eye could reach, and I had now counted above 

 twenty. I followed the chain at a distance of two 

 miles, and saw the surf furiously raging between 

 the spaces, and the water at the other side of the 

 chain quite smooth. At four o'clock in the after- 

 noon we reached the western point of the group j 

 here the islands ended, but a long reef, which ap- 

 peared a little above the water, extended to S.W., 

 and then took its direction to S.E. further than 

 the eye could reach. As soon as we had sailed 

 round the western point of the reef, we were 

 luider the wind in very still water, and as I hoped 



