he letters, we went on
shore to Mr. Roggers's, in order to post them in time, and paid the
postage to London. We bought also some brandy, vinegar and other
articles, for we began to see it would go slim with us on the voyage.
We were engaged the whole day in declaring our goods and carrying them
on board, which was completed early in the evening, and the goods
stowed away. We then paid Mr. Lucas a ducaton[86] for the duties on
our goods. He told us what the duties on the whole of the ship's cargo
amounted to, and gave us various other information, all very
willingly, because, after he heard that I was somewhat acquainted with
the wine business, he desired some particulars in regard to it from
me, which I gave him in writing to his satisfaction. We were now all
cleared....[87]

[Footnote 86: A Dutch silver coin, worth about $1.25.]

[Footnote 87: The _Charles_ set sail from Falmouth the next day, July
21, 1679. The account of the voyage is here omitted. It is a somewhat
interesting picture of the hardships, discomforts, and other incidents
of an Atlantic voyage in the seventeenth century, but it is
excessively long.]

[SEPTEMBER] _21st, Thursday._ The hatches of the hold were all opened
yesterday evening, and we began to make the cables fast to the
anchors, which we finished this morning. As soon as the sun rose,
every one climbed aloft in order to look for land and some of them
immediately cried out "land," but they soon discovered they were
mistaken. Our course was north, with the wind E.N.E. I said the land
we would see was in front of us, and we could not see it yet because
it was in latitude 40 deg. 20', and we had 39 deg., a difference of eighty
miles, and as we had sailed only from twenty-four to twenty-eight
miles at the most during the night, we were still fifty-two to
fifty-six miles off, and if we continued to sail as we were doing, it
would be noon or two o'clock before we would see it. I must say a word
here in relation to our cat; how she was always sick and lame for some
days before a storm, and could not walk, and when the storm was over,
was lively and nimble again. She had now been very playful for
several days, running here and there over the ship, but this morning
she was unusually gay. She came running with a spring, leaping into
the rigging and going far aloft, turning her head about and snuffing
the land, as much as to say, there is the land you should look out
for; and causing great laughter a