On the 8th of December, the ship being perfectly refitted, and having
taken in most of her water and stores, and received the sick on board,
we ran up to Batavia Road, and anchored in four fathom and a half of
water.[126]

[Footnote 126: Batavia Road is reckoned one of the best in the world for
size, safety, and goodness of anchorage. It is open indeed from the
north-west to east north-east and east; nevertheless, ships lie quite
secure in it, as there are several islands on that side which break the
force of the waves. There is no occasion for mooring stern and stern in
it.--E.]

From this time, to the 24th, we were employed in getting on board the
remainder of our water and provisions, with some new pumps, and in
several other operations that were necessary to fit the ship for the
sea, all which would have been effected much sooner, if sickness and
death had not disabled or carried off a great number of our men.

While we lay here, the Earl of Elgin, Captain Cook, a ship belonging to
the English East India Company, came to anchor in the road. She was
bound from Madras to China, but having lost her passage, put in here to
wait for the next season. The Phoenix, Captain Black, an English country
ship, from Bencoolen, also came to an anchor at this place.

In the afternoon of Christmas-eve, the 24th, I took leave of the
governor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place, with whom
I had formed connexions, and from whom I received every possible
civility and assistance; but in the mean time an accident happened which
might have produced disagreeable consequences. A seaman had run away
from one of the Dutch ships in the road, and entered on board of mine:
The captain had applied to the governor to reclaim him as a subject of
Holland, and an order for that purpose was procured: This order was
brought to me soon after I returned from my last visit, and I said, that
if the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be delivered
up. Mr Hicks commanded on board, and I gave the Dutch officer an order
to him to deliver the man up under that condition. I slept myself this
night on shore, and in the morning the captain of the Dutch commodore
came and told me that he had carried my order on board, but that the
officer had refused to deliver up the man, alleging not only that he was
not a Dutchman, but that he was a subject of Great Britain, born in
Ireland; I replied, that the officer had perfectly executed m