Part II. T -ayels into the Levant. 193 
delicate, and it feeds on a kind of fmall flying Fifli, which being purfucd, rife 
î(ut of the water, and fly above a Ships length, falling fometimes into Ships, as 
6k'::qdid into ours. On Sunday the feven and twentieth of December, I handled 
and confidered it at leifurc ■-, it was (haped like a Herring, and feven inches long > 
the Back of it was of a very dark blue, and the Belly white ■•, on each fide it had a 
Wing almoft five inches long, and about four inches broad : thefe Wings are only 
a thin Skin of a very obfcure blue colour, ftieatched upon little Nerves or Bones, 
which reach from the fide of the Filh, to the extremity of the Skin. When it is 
purfued by the Voradods it leaps out of the»Watcr, and flies in the Air fo long as 
the Wings of it are moifl, and when they dry it falls again into the water. When 
thefe Wings are dry they fold together like a Fan, and that FiQits Wings which I 
Handled were folded in that manner j it is very good to eat. 
We could have no Obfervation at noon, becaufe the Sun was over Clouded, 
and murtihen be fatisfied with our dtad reckoning, according to which we had 
made but nine Leagues from noon to noon. At eight a Clock at night, a Coal 
of nre fell out of a Tobacco-Pipe into the Gun-Room, through the hole of the 
Whip-ftaff i ^and by good fortune (he (wo Women flaves of Manuel Mendcz, (who 
lodged in that place,) foon perceived it, and put it out s and then being all in a 
fright, they cried out for help : they who had done this were enquired after, but in 
vain, for it was impotfible to find out the Authors : had not God in his great 
mercy preferved us from the danger of that accident, we muft all have unfortu- 
nately perifhed. 
Thurfday the four and twentieth of Veccmher^ at four of the Clock in the 
morning there fell a great deal of Rain, and it continued fhov.^ring by interval?, 
with great Thunder-Claps, till half an hour after fix; when the Rain was quite 
over, we had a good Wind frrm North-JFefl^ which made us run a League and 
a half an hour-, but it was dofe weather, and the Captain ordered to Steer away 
£rf/î, whereby we altered our Courfè, and flood in to Land i when I asked him 
the reafon of it, he told me, he was affraid he might find the Wind at Eafi, 
ISIorth Eaft, which would force us out from the place to which we were bound; 
but the tiuth was, he had a mind to make the Land, that he might know v/h<?tQ 
we were > for neither he, the mate, nor Gunner could tell it. At eight a Clock 
the Wind turned Eajlerly, and we flood away South, SoHth-Eajh At nine a Clock 
it fliifted to Somh-Eafi, and we Steered Smth, which was a very bid Courfe, 
for following it we muft have run far below the place whither we were bound. 
About ten a Clock the Wind being got into the South, Somh-Eafi-t we bore away 
JEaJl ■-, but all of a fudden the Wind flackcncd. At noon we had the Wind at 
South, and we Steered away Eaji, South-Eaji. We could have no Obfervation 
this day neither, becaufe of Cloudy weather, and they found by their dead 
Reckoning that we had made nine Leagues : moft of this way we had made fince 
fix a Clock in the morning, for the eighteen hours before, we had advanced but 
little or nothing at all. A quarter after twelve, the Wind tuxmd South- ff^cjl, and 
we Steered our Courfe North-Eaji, but we were prefently after becalmed. At two 
a Clock we had a breeze from North-lFefl, and we bore away South-Eafi and by 
Eafi. About fix a Clock the Wind flackened much. About feven a Clock our 
Ships Head flood South-Eafi, 
Friday the five ard twentieth of Vecetnher, at fix a Clock in the morning, it 
blew a JFe(i,North'lFefi Wind, and we fleered on our Courfe flill South-EajL About 
feven a Clock the Sky wasovercafl with Clouds, which brought Pv.ain with them, 
and we fawfome more Spouts at a pretty good diftance, and a Weather-Gall: 
this Weather-Gall was like a Segment of a Rain-Bow, rifing from the Horizon 
about three degrees -, or, if you will, it feemed to be three Foot high. Some- 
times they appear over a Ship, and that is commonly a prefage of a Tcmpefl i 
and the Portuguefe call this Phenomenon an (Oxes Eye.) About eight a Clock it blew 
a pretty frelh Gale from North i but immediately it veered about to Notth-Ealî-^ 
and becanne very weak. At noon we were by our Obfervations in three and 
twenty degrees two and fifty minutes Latitude, and had made from noon to noon, 
thirteen Leagues. Then the Captain and Mate made account that we were eight 
