56 Cordomh Voyage of Discovery 



vented, as well as the enormous extortion practised in the sale 

 of that article on-board, it being impossible for the commander 

 or officers to put a stop to such abuses, as those very persons 

 who are the objects of such extortion, are always the last to 

 acknowlege that such things are done. Any one at all ac- 

 quainted with the character of a seaman, knows how much he 

 will sacrifice to the gratification of even the feeblest of his de- 

 sires and inclinations. 



On the 23d we had frequently heavy rains, with little wind ; 

 but a breeze coming away more to the soutiiward, we were able 

 to steer NE. by N. in order to pass to the eastward oi the island 

 of Fernando Norono (Noronyo). 



On the 24th, we succeeded in making good observations of 

 three series of distances of sun and moon. From the island Tri- 

 nidad we had counted our longitude by No. taking it for 

 granted, that that island was correctly laid down by Admiral de 

 Langara, and estimating its daily advance on mean time to be 

 the same as w hen we left Cadiz, since its difference with No. 

 15 corresponded with what was observed in the same latitude on 

 our voyage eastwards ; but, taking themtdium of'the lunar dis- 

 tances from the sun, whose extreme did not differ half a degree 

 from each other, it resulted that we were now 41' to the eastw 

 ward of No. 1 6, and, consequently, either that the island of Tri- 

 nidad is more to the east than was formerly stated, or that the 

 time-piece advanced much more than we imagined. In this 

 dilemma, we chose rather to attribute the error to No. J 6, and 

 at the same time remarking, that No. 71 of Arnold had now re- 

 turned to the respective differences with the other two time- 

 pieces wliich it had maintained prior to the alteration 'in its 

 motion, we again resorted to it, giving it the preference over 

 the tw^o others of Berthoud, and allowing it the same da'ly ad- 

 vance on mean time which had been lornierly ascertained. The 

 experiment we made on this time-piece was, to calculate the 

 longitude by it, as if no alteration had taken place, and to com- 

 pare it with that deduced from the medium of lunar distances, 

 whence it appeared, that the latter was l'' 4' to the east of the 

 former, evidently showing that some change had happened in 

 the time-piece. It must however be mentioned, that this al- 

 teration was discovered only in consequence of comparisons 

 made after we came within sight of Trinidad. 



These combinations were, no doubt, inexact, and might with- 

 out hesitation have been abandoned ; but our anxiety to arrive 

 at the truth, led us perhaps to assign to them an importance to 

 which they were not entitled. When time- pieces once come to 

 undergo alteration in their movement, it is impossible ever to 

 discover with precision their rate of motion, while we are con- 



