de of the fires, a small shade, about a foot and a half high,
of the same substance. The whole was in a thicket of close trees, which
afforded good shelter from the wind. The place seemed to be much
trodden, and as we saw no house, nor any remains of a house, we were
inclined to believe that, as these people had no clothes, they had no
dwelling; but spent their nights, among the other commoners of Nature,
in the open air; and Tupia himself, with an air of superiority and
compassion, shook his head, and said, that they were _Taata Enos_, "poor
wretches,".[77] I measured the perpendicular height of the last tide,
and found it to be eight feet above low-water mark, and from the time of
low-water this day, I found that it must be high-water at the full and
change of the moon at eight o'clock.

[Footnote 77: The natives of New Holland are indeed "poor wretches;" but
let it be remembered that the term poor is relative. The reader must
make allowance for prejudice, in judging of their state from the
testimony of one who had lived in Otaheitan luxury. A Sicilian, it is
probable, would give a very sorry account of the Highlands and
Highlanders of Scotland--

Yet still e'en here Content can spread a charm,
Redress the clime, and all its rage disarm.

We never more erroneously estimate the happiness of a people, than when
we set up our own habits as the criterion of perfection. The error of
Tupia is the error of thousands.--E.]

At four o'clock in the morning we weighed, and with a gentle breeze at
south made sail out of the bay. In standing out, our soundings were from
five to fifteen fathom; and at day-light, when we were in the greatest
depth, and abreast of the north head of the bay, we discovered breakers
stretching out from it N.N.E. between two and three miles, with a rock
at the outermost point of them just above water. While we were passing
these rocks, at the distance of about half a mile, we had from fifteen
to twenty fathom; and as soon as we had passed them, we hauled along
shore W.N.W. for the farthest land we had in sight. At noon, our
latitude, by observation, was 23 deg. 52' S.; the north part of Bustard Bay
bore S. 62 E. distant ten miles; and the northermost land in sight N. 60
W.; the longitude was 208 deg. 37', and our distance from the nearest shore
six miles, with fourteen fathom water.

Till five in the afternoon it was calm, but afterwards we steered before
the wind N.W. as the land lay till ten