the smoke that I had
seen upon one of the sandy beaches on a desolate part of the coast, and
the surprise with which it had struck me: They then told me that another
ship, some time before, had fallen in with that part of the coast, and
had seen large smokes as I had done, although the place was uninhabited,
and supposed to be an island: To account for the smokes, however, they
told me also, that two Dutch East Indiamen had, about two years before,
sailed from Batavia for the Cape, and had never afterwards been heard
of; and it was supposed that one or both of them had been shipwrecked
there, and that the smokes which had been seen were made by some of the
unfortunate crew: They added, that they had more than once sent out
vessels to look for them, but that there broke so dreadful a sea upon
the coast, they were obliged to return without attempting to go on
shore. When I heard this melancholy account, I could only regret that I
had not known it before, for I would then certainly have made every
effort in my power to have found these unhappy wretches, and taken them
from a place where, in all probability, they would miserably perish.

The cape is certainly a most excellent place for ships to touch at; it
is a healthy climate, a fine country, and abounds with refreshments of
every kind. The company's garden is a delightful spot, and at the end of
it there is a paddock belonging to the governor, in which are kept a
great number of rare and curious animals, and among others, when I was
there, there were three fine ostriches, and four zebras of an uncommon
size. I gave all the people leave to go on shore by turns, and they
always contrived to get very drunk with cape wine before they came back.
Many ships came in while we lay here; some were Dutch, some French, some
Danes, but all were outward-bound.

Having continued here three weeks, and during that time refreshed our
men, and completed our water, I took leave of the good old governor on
the 6th of March, and on the 7th, sailed out of the bay, with a fine
breeze at S.E.

On Sunday the 16th, at six in the morning, we saw the island of St
Helena, bearing W. by N. at the distance of about sixteen leagues, and
about noon, a large ship, which shewed French colours. We pursued our
course, and a few days afterwards, as we were sailing with a fine gale,
and at a great distance from land, the ship suddenly received a rude
shock, as if she had struck the ground: This instantly br