18 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
during a heavy storm that came on in the course of the 
folloAving day. 
The wind from the south continued fresh and favour¬ 
able, and in the forenoon of the next day we sailed towards 
the shore, under the influence of exhilarated spirits, and 
the confident expectation of landing in Port Jackson 
before sunset. About noon we found ourselves near 
enough the coast to distinguish different objects along 
the shore, and soon discovered the flagstaff erected on 
one of the heads leading to Sydney, our port of destina¬ 
tion, about four miles distant from us, but rather to 
windward. The captain and officers being strangers to 
the port, some little time was spent in scanning the 
coast, in the hope of finding an opening still farther 
northward; but at twelve o’clock our apprehensions 
of having missed our port were confirmed, as the latitude 
was then found, by an observation of the sun, to be four 
miles to the northward of Sydney heads. We had, in 
fact, sailed with a strong but favourable wind, four miles 
past the harbour which we ought to have entered. Hope, 
which had beamed in every eye, and lighted up every 
countenance with anticipated pleasure, when we first 
neared the land, had alternated with fear, or given way 
to most intense anxiety, when we witnessed the uncer¬ 
tainty that prevailed among our companions, as to our 
actual situation 5 but disappointment the most distress¬ 
ing, was now strongly marked in every countenance. 
About ship,” exclaimed the captain; immediately the 
ship’s head was turned from the land, and, steering as 
near the wind as possible, we proceeded towards the 
open sea. After sailing in this direction for some 
time, the ship was again turned towards the shore; but 
the wind, which during the forenoon had been so favour- 
