Bayly, in the
Resolution and the Adventure; Mr Bayly, a second time, jointly with
Captains Cook and King in this voyage; and Mr Lyons, who accompanied
Lord Mulgrave.--D.]

What real acquisitions have been gained by this munificent attention to
science, cannot be better expressed than in the words of Mr Wales, who
engaged in one of these voyages himself, and contributed largely to the
benefits derived from them.

"That branch of natural knowledge which may be called _nautical
astronomy_, was undoubtedly in its infancy when these voyages were first
undertaken. Both instruments and observers, which deserved the name,
were very rare; and so late as the year 1770, it was thought necessary,
in the appendix to Mayor's Tables, published by the Board of Longitude,
to state facts, in contradiction to the assertions of so celebrated an
astronomer as the Abbe de la Caille, that the altitude of the sun at
noon, the easiest and most simple of all observations, could not be
taken with certainty to a less quantity than five, six, seven, or even
eight minutes.[53] But those who will give themselves the trouble to
look into the astronomical observations, made in Captain Cook's last
voyage, will find, that there were few, even of the petty officers, who
could not observe the distance of the moon from the sun, or a star, the
most delicate of all observations, with sufficient accuracy. It may be
added, that the method of making and computing observations for finding
the variation of the compass, is better known, and more frequently
practised, by those who have been on these voyages, than by most others.
Nor is there, perhaps, a person who ranks as an officer, and has been
concerned in them, who would not, whatever his real skill may be, feel
ashamed to have it thought that he did not know how to observe for, and
compute the time at sea; though, but a short while before these voyages
were set on foot, such a thing was scarcely ever heard of amongst
seamen; and even first-rate astronomers doubted the possibility of doing
it with sufficient exactness.[54]

[Footnote 53: The Abbe's words are,--"Si ceux qui promettent une si
grande precision dans ces sortes de methodes, avoient navigue quelques
temps, ils auroient vu souvent, que dans l'observation la plus simple de
toutes, qui est celle de la hauteur du soleil a midi, deux observations,
munis de bons quartiers de reflexion, bien rectifies, different
entr'eux, lorsqu'ils observent chacun a p