402 



VOYAGE IN SEARCH 



came repeatedly and furrounded our fhips ; they 

 fpouted out water on our very decks. We faw 

 clearly by the little fear with which we infpired 

 them, that they had never been purfued by 

 fifhers. 



Our fhip was encumbered with lories pur- 

 chafed at Amboyna ; their piercing cries left us 

 not a moment's peace during the clay ; they by 

 no means agreed with their fituation on board, 

 for fome of them daily perifhed. They were at- 

 tacked by convullivc movements, which vitriolic 

 ether certainly had the power to alleviate, with- 

 out however laving their life. 



Mortality had alfo fpread among our fowls ; 

 moll of them were attacked by violent ophthal- 

 mia, occalioncd by the eoldnefs of the nights; 

 and thofe which were deprived of fight, ere long 

 died of hunger. Yet it would have been eafy to 

 prevent this accident, by flickering thefc animals 

 from the night air by means of a fereen properly 

 fitted to the front of the coops. 



Much had been faid to us in praifeof the Am- 

 boyna water, tor its property of keeping a long 1 

 limp at 1. at putrefying; but the cafe was 



different witli u*; ours was already very much 

 d, and no longer drink it till it 



had been violently agitated, in order to expel 

 from it the inflammable air, which fortunately 

 adheres to it but in a flight degree. This un- 

 expected 



