ed. It lies in
latitude 4 deg. 50' S. and bears west fifteen leagues from the northermost
of the Nine Islands, and we called it _Sir Charles Hardy's Island_.

At day-break the next morning, we discovered another large high island,
which, rising in three considerable hills, had, at a distance, the
appearance of three islands. We gave it the name of _Winchelsea's
Island_; it is distant from Sir Charles Hardy's island about ten
leagues, in the direction of S. by E. We had here the wind squally, with
unsettled weather, and a very strong westerly current.

About ten o'clock in the morning of the 26th, we saw another large
island to the northward, which I supposed to be the same that was
discovered by Schouten, and called the island of Saint John. Soon after
we saw high land to the westward, which proved to be Nova Britannia; and
as we approached it we found a very strong S.S. westerly current,
setting at the rate of no less than thirty-two miles a-day. The next
day, having only light winds, a north-westerly current set us into a
deep bay or gulph, which proved to be that which Dampier has
distinguished by the name of Saint George's Bay.

On the 28th, we anchored in a bay near a little island at the distance
of about three leagues to the N.W. of Cape Saint George, which was
called _Wallis's Island_. I found the latitude of this Cape to be about
5 deg. S. and its longitude by account 152 deg. 19' E. which is about two
thousand five hundred leagues due west from the continent of America,
and about one degree and a half more to the eastward than its place in
the French chart which has been just mentioned. In the afternoon I sent
the cutter to examine the coast, and the other boat to get some
cocoa-nuts, and haul the seine. The people in this boat caught no fish,
but they brought on board about an hundred and fifty cocoa-nuts, which
were distributed to the men at the surgeon's discretion. We had seen
some turtle as we were coming into the bay, and hoping that some of them
might repair to the island in the night, especially as it was sandy,
barren, and uninhabited, like the places these animals most frequent, I
sent a few men on shore to watch for them, but they returned in the
morning without success.

We anchored here only to wait till the boats could find a fit place for
our purpose; and several very good harbours being discovered not far
distant, we now endeavoured to weigh anchor, but, with the united
strength of our whol