e Admiralty, but found no observed latitude marked by him on that
day.]

The nearest land, at noon, was a steep head bearing N. 66 deg. E., one mile
and a half; and between this, and the head which bore S. 74 deg. W., the
shore forms a sandy bay four miles deep, where it is probable there may
be good anchorage, if two clumps of rock, which lie in the entrance, will
admit of a passage in. After taking bearings of Maatsuyker's Isles and
the different headlands, we bore away eastward, and passed another deep,
sandy bight, probably the same in which Mr. Cox anchored in 1789. At two
o'clock, the

South-west Cape, distant 15 or 16 miles, bore W. 2 deg. S.
A steep head at the furthest extreme,
which proved to be the _South Cape_, S. 72 deg. E. *

[* The magnetic bearing of the South-west Cape was W. 5 deg. S., and that of
the South Cape E. 15 deg. S. The true variation I believe to have been 8 deg. E.;
but as the sloop's head was at east, no more than 3 deg. are allowed, from a
system which will be hereafter explained. It seemed necessary to say
this, because the formation of the south end of Van Diemen's Land in my
chart, differs from that given by captain Cook, and from those of most
others. In Bayly's _Astronomical Observations_, page 192, it appears that
six sets of variations were observed on board the Resolution, Mar. 24,
1777, off the South Cape; the mean result of which was 4 deg. 43' east. Next
morning six other sets were taken near the same place, and the mean
variation came out 10 deg.8' east. In captain King's journal, I found the
same observations entered, and that the ship's head was E. by N. 1/2 N. in
the first case, and N. W. by W. in the second. This, with the example in
the Francis, page cxxvi {The relevant paragraph begins "Whilst passing
round the north end . . ." ebook Ed.}, and that in the Norfolk on the
preceding page {a few paragraphs above this point. ebook Ed.}, may serve
to show, for the present, that corrections are required to the variation,
according to the direction of the vessel's head.]

At this time we were one mile within, or north of the largest of the
islands; and saw with some surprise, for it is three miles from the main,
that its grassy vegetation had been burnt. From hence we steered for the
easternmost isle, lying off a wide open bight in the coast, and
afterwards hauled up for the South Cape. The wind died away at six
o'clock, when the Cape was one mile distant; but t