1851.] A Twentieth Memoir on the Law of Storms* 197 



notices a heavy swell, but the Nereid has not remarked on the sea till 

 near midnight. 



We have thus the logs and positions of the Cowasjee and Duke of 

 Wellington only to fix the position of the centre for this day, and from 

 these we should strictly place the centre in 12° 10' North; and 

 90° 58' East ; but, owing to the very acute angle formed by the lines 

 of bearing from the wind-points, this is evidently too far to the East- 

 ward, for it places the centre at 180 miles to the East of the Cowasjee 

 which ship had a full hurricane, and at only 120 and 85 miles to the 

 S. E. and S. b. E. of the Nereid and Eneas with which ships the 

 Cyclone had not yet commenced. The Wellington also is apparently 

 by the Chart nearer to the centre than the Cowasjee, yet her weather 

 is not described as very severe till the afternoon, when Capt. Duncan 

 rightly judging his position and the track of the Cyclone bore up to 

 cross in front of it. 



We must farther remark that the positions of the Wellington and 

 Cowasjee are uncertain, and particularly that of the latter vessel which 

 was carrying sail to the Northward and Westward against the N. 

 Easterly gale. They had moreover no observations on this day, and 

 the log can rarely be much attended to in merchantmen when all hands 

 are busy with the preparations for a gale. It is evident also that the 

 centre was much closer upon these two ships since they were involved 

 in the Cyclone circle than to the Nereid and Eneas, the positions of 

 which we must take to be correct, since they had fine weather and were 

 but a few days from the Sand Heads, and we shall further see that the 

 Cyclone was, here, one of those of no great extent but of excessive seve- 

 rity within a short distance of its centre. With all these views then I 

 have estimated the centre to be for this day about in Lat. 11° 10' N. ; 

 and Long. 89° 20' East. 



2bth April. — On this day at 2 a. m. the centre must have passed 

 between the Eneas and Nereid, and close to the Eneas, as while, or 

 after, dismasting her it veered to the S. East. This ship's log being 

 lost we can only estimate her run from noon and position at this time, 

 nor have we the detailed log* of the Nereid either, though the summary 



* This is always required, however full and carefully drawn up the abstract of 

 the log may be, because until all the documents are collected it is impossible to say 

 at what hour it may be necessary to ascertain any ship's position. I have fre- 



