good success.

On the 28th, I landed in company with Mr Bayly, on the island which
lies between the two channels into the _lagoon_, to prepare the
telescopes for observing the approaching eclipse of the sun, which
was one great inducement to my anchoring here. About noon, Mr King
returned with one boat and eight turtles, leaving seven behind to
be brought by the other boat, whose people were employed in catching
more; and, in the evening, the same boat was sent with water and
provisions for them. Mr Williamson now went to superintend this
duty in the room of Mr King, who remained on board to attend the
observation of the eclipse.

The next day, Mr Williamson dispatched the two boats back to the ship,
laden with turtles. At the same time, he sent me a message, desiring
that the boats might be ordered round by sea, as he had found a
landing-place on the S.E. side of the island, where most of the
turtles were caught; so that by sending the boats thither, the trouble
would be saved of carrying them over the land to the inside of the
_lagoon_, as had been hitherto done. The boats were accordingly
dispatched to the place which he pointed out.

On the morning of the 30th, the day when the eclipse was to happen,
Mr King, Mr Bayly, and myself, went ashore on the small island
above-mentioned, to attend the observation. The sky was over-cast till
past nine o'clock, when the clouds about the sun dispersed long enough
to take its altitude, to rectify the time by the watch we made use
of. After this, it was again obscured, till about thirty minutes past
nine, and then we found that the eclipse was begun. We now fixed the
micrometers to the telescopes, and observed or measured the uneclipsed
part of the sun's disk. At these observations I continued about
three-quarters of an hour before the end, when I left off, being, in
fact, unable to continue them longer, on account of the great heat of
the sun, increased by the reflection from the sand.

The sun was clouded at times; but it was clear when the eclipse ended,
the time of which was observed as follows:

Mr Bayly 0 26 3
By Mr King at 0 26 1 Apparent Time p.m.
Myself 0 25 37

Mr Bayly and I observed with the large achromatic telescopes, and Mr
King with a reflector. As Mr Bayly's telescope and mine were of the
same magnifying power, I ought not to have differed so much from
him as I did. Perhaps, it was, in part, if not