a gale
from West-South-West. I became very anxious to arrive at Port Jackson;
for we had but five men who could keep watch. The damp weather had
attended us with little intermission since our passing Cape Leeuwin, and
our people had been constantly wet with the continued breaking over of
the sea: indeed the decks had only been twice dry, and that even for a
few hours, since we left that meridian.

July 27.

On the 27th, by sunset, we were abreast of Cape Howe.

July 29.

And on the 29th, at noon, the lighthouse on the south head of the port
was joyfully descried. At eight o'clock in the evening we entered the
heads, and anchored in Sydney Cove at midnight, after an absence of
thirty-one weeks and three days.

Upon reviewing the proceedings of the voyage, the result of which bore
but a small proportion to what we had yet to do, I saw, with no little
satisfaction, that I had been enabled to set at rest the two particular
points of my instructions, namely, the opening behind Rosemary Island,
and the examination of the great bay of Van Diemen.

Upon rounding the North-West Cape, we had been unfortunate in losing our
anchors, which very much crippled our proceedings, and prevented our
prosecuting the examination of the coast in so detailed a manner as we
otherwise might have done; for we possessed no resource to avail
ourselves of, if we had been so unfortunate as to get on shore. A series
of fine weather, however, on the first part, and a sheltered coast with
good anchorage on the latter part of the voyage, enabled us to carry on
the survey without accident; and nearly as much has been effected with
one anchor as could have been done had we possessed the whole. It
prevented, however, our examining the bottom of Exmouth Gulf, and our
landing upon Depuch Island. The latter was a great disappointment to us,
on account of the following description which M. Peron gives of the
island, in his historical account of Baudin's Voyage, from the report of
M. Ronsard, who visited it.

"Au seul aspect de cette ile, on pouvoit deja pressentir qu'elle etoit
d'une nature differente de toutes celles que nous avions vues jusqu'a ce
jour. En effet, les terres en etoient plus hautes, les formes plus
prononcees: a mesure qu'on put s'en rapprocher, la difference devint plus
sensible encore. Au lieu de ces cotes uniformement prolongees, qui
n'offroient aucune pointe, aucun piton, aucune eminence, on voyait se
dessiner sur cette ile des roc