pitcairn's island. 105 
Copenhagen, St. Vincent, the Nile, and Tra- 
falgar ! At the end of the narrative, Adams 
gave a loud cheer, shouting, at the top of his 
voice, " Old England for ever ! V 
The visit of Captain Folger introduces us to 
Pitcairn's Island, and its inhabitants. The 
reader may now desire to learn the origin of its 
name, and the circumstances of its first discovery 
by British navigators. 
Captain Philip Carteret, in his description of 
a Voyage round the World, wrote as follows, 
July, 1767:— 
" We continued our course westward till the 
evening of Thursday, the 2d of July, when we 
discoveied land to the northward of us. Upon 
approaching it the next day, it appeared like a 
great rock rising out of the sea. It was not 
more than iive miles in circumference, and 
seemed to be uninhabited. It was, however, 
covered with trees ; and we saw a small stream 
of fresh water running down one side of it. I 
would have landed upon it, but the surf, which 
at this season broke upon it with great violence, 
rendered it impossible. I got soundings on the 
west side of it, at somewhat less than a mile 
from the shore, in twenty-five fathoms, with a 
bottom of coral and sand ; and it is probable that 
in fine summer weather landing here may not 
only be practicable, but easy. We saw a great 
number of sea-birds hovering about it, at some- 
what less than a mile from the shore ; and the 
sea here seemed to have fish. It lies in lat. 
20' 2' south; long. 133 s 21 west.* It is so 
v The latitude and longitude are here wrongly stated. 
