6th, a sail was seen to the S.W. standing toward us;
and, as the wind soon after rose from the same quarter, we cleared our
ships for action. We now discovered, from the mast-head, five sail more on
our lee-bow, standing to the eastward; but the weather coming on hazy, we
lost sight of them all in an hour's time. Our latitude at noon was 35 deg. 49'
S., longitude 21 deg. 32' E. At seven o'clock the next morning (the 7th), we
made the land to the northward at a considerable distance.

On the 8th, the weather was squally, and blew fresh from the N.W.; the
following day it settled to the W., and we passed pretty close to the sail
seen on the 6th, but did not hail her. She was clumsy in figure, and, to
appearance, unskilfully managed; yet she outsailed us exceedingly. The
colours which she hoisted were different from any we had seen; some
supposed them to be Portugueze, others Imperial.

At day-light, the next morning, the land again appeared to the N.N.W.; and
in the forenoon, a snow was seen bearing down to us, which proved to be an
English East India packet, that had left Table Bay three days before, and
was cruising with orders for the China fleet, and other India ships. She
told us, that, about three weeks before, Mons. Trongoller's squadron,
consisting of six ships, had sailed from the Cape, and was gone to cruise
off St Helena, for our East India fleet. This intelligence made us
conjecture, that the five sail we had seen standing to the eastward must
have been the French squadron, who, in that case, had given over their
cruise, and were probably proceeding to the Mauritius. Having informed the
packet of our conjectures, and also of the time we understood the China
ships were to sail from Canton, we left them, and proceeded toward the
Cape.

In the evening of the 10th, the Gunner's Quoin bore N. by E., and False
Cape, E.N.E.; but the wind being at S.W., and variable, prevented our
getting into False Bay, till the evening of the 12th, when we dropt anchor
abreast of Simon's Bay. We found a strong current setting to the westward,
round the Cape, which, for some time, we could but just stem, with a breeze
that would have carried us four knots an hour. The next morning we stood
into Simon's Bay; and at eight came to anchor, and moored a cable each way;
the best bower to the E.S.E., and small bower, W.N.W.; the S.E. point of
the bay bearing S. by E., Table Mountain, N.E. 1/2 N.; distant from the
nearest shore one-third o