Scottish Papists had taken up arms for the
conspirators.[64]

[Footnote 64: A distorted rumor of the rising of the Covenanters in
June, 1679; but everything was now seen in the light of the Popish
Plot.]

It is proper that I should say something here of the North Sea. In
case you are driven about by strong contrary winds and cannot obtain
the latitude, and, indeed, under any circumstances, you should use the
deep lead frequently, for the depth is well shown on the chart, and
often you cannot get sight of the land. The Flemish coast is the least
dangerous, although the English is the most surveyed, because the
water becomes shoal gradually. You may get into thirteen and fourteen
fathoms of water. In the true channel it is twenty and twenty-two
fathoms, and in the middle it is deeper, namely, twenty-six and
twenty-eight and over, but it is somewhat more uneven. In approaching
the English coast the shoals are more even, as twenty-six, eighteen,
seventeen fathoms. To navigate the channel it is best to keep nearest
the Flemish coast, because it affords a better course, and the current
makes it easy to go north, and the sandbars such as the Galper,
Wytingh, and Goyn,[65] are more to be avoided than the Flemish banks;
and, moreover, close by the shore it is very deep, yet by the setting
of the current to the north you may soon be upon them, that is, with
an ebb tide.

[Footnote 65: Sandbanks off the southeast coast of England, called by
the English the Galloper, the Whiting, and the Goodwin Sands.]

_2d, Sunday._ Made fair progress during the night. We found ourselves
in the morning before the point of Bevesier,[66] which I sketched. The
wind was northerly with a cool air. About breakfast time a large
English ship came up behind us, which we hailed. She was from London
and bound for the Straits.[67] She had much sail on, and after passing
us, set all she had; but not long afterwards a small breeze blowing
off shore, she was compelled to begin to take in her topgallant-sails
and upperstay-sails. This was scarcely half done when her maintop-mast
and mizzentop-mast went by the board, and remained hanging on the side
of the ship. The man who was taking in the topgallant-sail fell
overboard. When this accident happened she was only a short distance
ahead of us; and we, therefore, all ran forward to the forecastle to
see whether there were any pieces of wood at our bow to damage us. We
sailed by her, close under her lee, and s