northern hemisphere can produce.
The danger of navigating unknown parts of this ocean was now greatly
increased by our having a crazy ship, and being short of provisions and
every other necessary; yet the distinction of a first discoverer made us
cheerfully encounter every danger, and submit to every inconvenience;
and we chose rather to incur the censure of imprudence and temerity,
which the idle and voluptuous so liberally bestow upon unsuccessful
fortitude and perseverance, than leave a country which we had discovered
unexplored, and give colour to a charge of timidity and irresolution.

Having now congratulated ourselves upon getting within the reef,
notwithstanding we had so lately congratulated ourselves upon getting
without it, I resolved to keep the main-land on board in my future route
to the northward, whatever the consequence might be; for if we had now
gone without the reef again, it might have carried us so far from the
coast as to prevent my being able to determine, whether this country
did, or did not, join to New Guinea; a question which I was determined
to resolve from my first coming within sight of land. However, as I had
experienced the disadvantage of having a boat under repair, at a time
when it was possible I might want to use her, I determined to remain
fast at anchor, till the pinnace was perfectly refitted. As I had no
employment for the other boats, I sent them out in the morning to the
reef, to see what refreshments could be procured, and Mr Banks, in his
little boat, accompanied by Dr Solander, went with them. In this
situation I found the variation by amplitude and azimuth to be 4 deg. 9' E.;
and at noon, our latitude by observation was 12 deg. 38' S., and our
longitude 216 deg. 45' W. The main land extended from N. 66 W. to S.W. by
S., and the nearest part of it was distant about nine leagues. The
opening through which we had passed I called _Providential Channel_; and
this bore E.N.E. distant ten or twelve miles: On the main land within us
was a lofty promontory which I called _Cape Weymouth_; on the north side
of which is a bay, which I called _Weymouth Bay_: They lie in latitude
12 deg. 42' S., longitude 217 deg. 15' W. At four o'clock in the afternoon the
boats returned with two hundred and forty pounds of the meat of
shell-fish, chiefly of cockles, some of which were as much as two men
could move, and contained twenty pounds of good meat. Mr Banks also
brought back many curious shells