Between the Archipelagos.'} 
TERRA AUSTRALIA 
95 
miles distance, in from 7 to 11 fathoms water. The latitude at noon 180<2 - 
January. 
from very indifferent observations, was 32 0 23f', and longitude 127 0 2'; Saturday 23. 
the coast, four miles distant to the northward, was low and sandy, but 
rose quickly to the level bank, upon which there were some shrubs 
and small trees. Nothing of the interior country could be seen 
above the bank ; but this might possibly have been owing to the 
haze, which was so thick that no extremes of the land could be de- 
fined. The wind was fresh at south-south-west, and by seven in 
the evening our longitude was augmented 55' ; the land was then dis- 
tant six or seven miles, trending east-north-eastward ; and we hauled 
to the wind which had increased in strength though the barometer was 
fast rising. 
Having stood to the south-east till midnight, we then tacked 
to the westward ; and at five next morning bore away north for the Sunday 24. 
land, the wind being then at south-by-east, and the barometer 
announcing by its elevation a return of foul winds. At six we 
steered eastward, along the same kind of shore as seen on the preced- 
ing day; but the wind coming more unfavourable, and depth diminish- 
ing to 5 fathoms soon after eight o'clock, made it necessary to stretch 
off to sea. The coast, in latitude 32° 1' and longitude 12 8° 12', was 
three miles distant to the north. A league further on it took a more 
northern direction, but without much changing its aspect ; it con- 
tinued to be the same sandy beach, with a bank behind it of level 
land topped with small trees and shrubs as before described. 
The rest of the day and the whole of the 25th were taken up in Monday 25. 
beating fruitlessly against an eastern wind. Azimuths observed when 
the ship's head was east-by-north, gave variation 6° 4/ ; and ten miles 
to the south a little eastward, they gave 3 0 8' west, at south-by-east; 
corrected 3' 2' and 2 0 32', and the mean 2 0 4,7' for the true variation, 
showing a decrease since the last, of i° ic/ for 4°u' of longitude. 
At ten in the evening, our situation was less advanced than 
on the morning of the 24th, when we tacked off shore ; but the 
mercury was again descending, and during the night the wind 
veered to north-east, to north, and at eight in the morning to west- Tuesday26. 
