Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope. 239 
ward, and 3 0 to the weft, having variable light airs, interrupted 
by calms, with fultry weath#, and an unwholefome air, oc- 
caftoned probably by the load of vapours which the eaftern 
trade-wind, and vvefterly monfoons, bring into thefe latitudes, 
both which blow in thefe Teas at the time of year when we 
happened to be there. The eafterly wind prevails as far as 10 
or 1 2 0 S. and the wefterly as far as 6 or 8 ° ; in the intermediate 
fpace the winds are variable, and the air, I believe, always 
unwholefome ; it certainly aggravated the difeafes which we 
brought with us from Batavia, and particularly the flux, which 
was not in the lead; degree checked by any medicine, fo that 
whoever was feized with it, conftdered himfelf as a dead man ; 
but we had no fooner got into the trade-wind, than we began 
to feel its falutary effefts : we buried indeed feveral of our 
people afterwards, but they were fuch as had been taken on 
board in aftate fo low and feeble that there was fcarcely apoflibi- 
lity of their recovery. At firft we fufpected that this dreadful 
diforder might have been brought upon us by the water that we 
took on board at Prince’s Ifland, or even the turtle that we 
bought there; but there is not the leaft reafon to believe that 
this fufpicion was well grounded, for all the ftiips that came 
from Batavia at the fame feafon, differed in the fame degree, 
and fome of them even more feverely, though none of them 
touched at Prince’s Ifland in their way. 
A few days after we left Java, we faw boobies about the 
ihip for feveral nights fucceflively, and as thefe birds are known 
to rooft every night on Ihore, we thought them an indication 
that fome ifland was not far diftant; perhaps it might be the 
ifland of Selam, which, in different charts, is very differently 
laid down both in name and fltuation. 
The variation of the compafs off the weft coaft of Java is 
about 3 0 W, and fo it* continued without any fenftble variation, 
in the common track of fhips to the longitude of 288° W. lati- 
tude 22 S. after which it increafed apace, fo that in longitude 
295°, latitude 2 3 0 , the variation was io° 20' W. in feven 
degrees more of longitude, and one of latitude, it increafed 
two degrees ; in the fame fpace, farther to the weft, it in- 
creafed fi ve degrees : in latitude 28°, longitude 314 0 , it was 
24 0 20', in latitude 29° longitude 317 0 , it was 26° 10', and 
was then ftationary for the fpace of about ten degrees farther 
to the weft; but in latitude 34®, longitude 333V, we obferved 
it twice to be 28 0 ! W. and this was its greateft variation, for 
in latitude 3 j°£, longitude 337°, it was 24 0 , and continued 
gradually to decreafe ; fo that off Cape Anguillas it was 22° 
30', and in Table Bay 20° 30' W. 
As to currents it did not appear that they were at all con- 
fiderablc, till we came within a little diftance of the meridian 
of Madagafcar ; for after we had made 52° of longitude from 
Java 
