tly putting to sea on
the further prosecution of the instructions and orders which he had
received from his court. Previous to their departure, however, the
lieutenant-governor, with the officers of the settlement and of the
corps, were entertained first on board the _Descuvierta_, and the next
day on board the _Atrevida_, the lieutenant-governor being each day
received with a salute of nine guns, with the Spanish flag hoisted on the
foretopmast-head, being the compliment that is paid in the Spanish
service to a lieutenant-general. The dinner was prepared and served up
after their own custom, and bore every appearance of having been
furnished from a plentiful market.* The healths of our respective
sovereigns, being united in one wish, were drank with every token of
approbation, under a discharge of cannon; and 'Prosperity to the British
colonies in New South Wales' concluded the ceremonials of each day.

[* A small cow from Monterrey was sacrificed on the occasion]

The commodore presented the lieutenant-governor with two drawings of this
settlement, and one of Parramatta, done in Indian ink, by F. Brambila;
together with a copy of the astronomical observations which had been made
at the observatory, and at Parramatta. From these it appeared that the
longitude of the observatory which they had erected at the Point, deduced
from forty-two sets of distances of the sun and moon, taken on the
morning of the 2nd of this month, was 151 degrees 18 minutes 8 seconds E
from Greenwich; and the latitude, 33 degrees 51 minutes 28 seconds S. The
latitude of the governor's house at Parramatta was 33 degrees 48 minutes
0 seconds S; and the distance west from the observatory about nineteen
miles.

The commodore left a packet with dispatches for the Spanish ambassador at
the court of London, to be forwarded by the first ship which should
depart hence direct for England; and on the 12th both ships sailed. Their
future route was never exactly spoken of by them; but, from what the
officers occasionally threw out, it appeared that they expected to be in
Europe in about fourteen months from their departure. They spoke of
visiting the Society and Friendly Islands, and of proceeding again to the
coast of South America.

As it had been the general wish to render the residence of these
strangers among us as pleasant as our situation would allow, we received
with great satisfaction the expressions of regret which they testified at
their depar