the evening we saw a large fire there, and I intended to go in (if winds
and weather would permit) to get some acquaintance with the natives.

Since the 4th instant that we passed Cape Mabo, to the 12th, we had small
easterly winds and calms, so that we anchored several times, where I made
my men cut wood, that we might have a good stock when a westerly wind
should present, and so we plied to the eastward, as winds and currents
would permit, having not got in all above thirty leagues to the eastward
of Cape Mabo; but on the 12th, at four in the afternoon, a small gale
sprang up at north-east-by-north, with rain; at five it shuffled about to
north-west, from thence to the south-west, and continued between those
two points a pretty brisk gale, so that we made sail and steered away
north-east, till the 13th, in the morning, to get about the Cape of Good
Hope. When it was day we steered north-east half east, then north-east-
by-east till seven o'clock, and, being then seven or eight leagues off
shore, we steered away east, the shore trending east-by-south. We had
very much rain all night, so that we could not carry much sail, yet we
had a very steady gale. At eight this morning the weather cleared up,
and the wind decreased to a fine top-gallant gale, and settled at west-by-
south. We had more rain these three days past, than all the voyage, in
so short a time. We were now about six leagues from the land of New
Guinea, which appeared very high; and we saw two headlands about twenty
leagues asunder, the one to the east and the other to the west, which
last is called the Cape of Good Hope. We found variation east 4 degrees.

The 15th, in the morning, between twelve and two o'clock, it blew a very
brisk gale at north-west, and looked very black in the south-west. At
two it flew about at once to the south-south-west, and rained very hard.
The wind settled some time at west-south-west, and we steered east-north-
east till three in the morning; then the wind and rain abating, we