30 VOYAGE TO [From Madeira 
September. steered in the parallel of the island. Next day at noon, our situ- 
Thursdayio. ation was in o° 22' south and 20 0 5' west ; and seeing no land, nor 
any signs of being in its neighbourhood, I gave up the search after the 
island, and hauled south-westward on our way to the Cape of Good 
Hope. 
In the morning, I had observed the variation with Walker's 
meridional compass, when the ship's head was W.by N. (magnetic) ; 
upon the binnacle it gave 14 0 30', and on the booms 13 0 o' west. 
Thus the difference, arising from a change of place in the compass, 
appeared to diminish sensibly as we approached the magnetic equator. 
The true variation I judge to have been 13 0 11' west. 
During the two nights of our search for St. Paul's, the quan- 
tity of sail was so reduced that not more than ten or twelve leagues 
should be passed between dusk and daylight ; by which means the 
view astern, in the morning, nearly reached to the horizon of the pre- 
ceding evening, and any thing, a little elevated above the surface of 
the water, could scarcely escape being seen from the mast head, 
more especially as we were fortunate in having distinct views to- 
wards each setting and rising sun. The look-out, also, was parti- 
cularly attended to ; for at this time was commenced the system 
.which, in all similar cases, I intended to pursue throughout the 
voyage. A part of this plan was an order to the three warrant 
officers to take charge of the look-out betwixt dark and daylight, 
and to be answerable for the vigilance with which it should be exe- 
cuted, both in their own persons, and in those who were placed upon 
the same duty under them. The leisure usually enjoyed by this 
class of officers, particularly by the gunner and carpenter, I conceived 
to admit of this abridgment, without injury to their ordinary sea 
duties. 
I had twice before crossed the equator, at the respective distances 
of twenty-six and seventy-three miles to the west of where our search 
for the Isle of St. Paul ceased ; and Mr. Thistle, the master, had 
crossed the parallel of 25' south, in longitude 22 0 12', a few months 
