as on the preceding day. But
this not proving to be the case, our track lay a few miles to the south;
though sufficiently near for us to be satisfied of the non-existence of
the island in the place assigned to it, if that could any longer admit of
a doubt.*

[* At the Cape of Good Hope, in 1810, His Excellency the Earl of Caledon
favoured me with the following extract from the log book of the sloop
Columbus--Long, master; returning to the Cape from the coast of Brazil.

"September 22, 1809, at five p.m., saw the island of Saxonburg, bearing
E. S. E., first about 41 leagues distant: clear weather. Steered for the
said island, and found it to be in the latitude of 30 deg. 18' south,
longitude 28 deg. 20' west, or thereabout.

"The island of Saxonburg is about four leagues in length, N. W. and S. E,
and about 21/2 miles in breadth. The N. W. end is a high bluff of about 70
feet, perpendicular form, and runs along to the south-east about 8 miles.
You will see trees at about a mile and a half distance, and a sandy
beach."

The situation of Saxemberg in the common tables and charts, was 30 deg. 45'
south and 19 deg. 40' west, almost 9 deg. of longitude too little; and therefore
it is not surprising that ships have missed it. At the time so many birds
were seen, on the 28th, the Investigator was not more than eighty miles
from the position of the island, as above given from Mr. Long.]

SUNDAY 4 OCTOBER 1801

The fresh western winds continued, with short intervals of calm, as far
as the latitude 33 deg. 23', and longitude 13 deg. 0' west; when they died away,
and a breeze sprung up from the eastward. With this wind we could do
little more than look up for the isles of Tristan d'Acunha, whose bearing
was then S. 16 deg. E., and distance seventy-seven leagues. From the
description given by sir Erasmus Gower* of the anchorage, and the
convenience with which water may be obtained, and his account of the
animals which resort there, I should not have considered it to be lost
time, had the wind made it advisable to put in at Tristan d'Acunha, for a
few days; but it veered round to the north-west, on the [TUESDAY] 6th.
and we resumed our former course to the Cape of Good Hope.

[* _Lord Macartney's Embassy to China_, by sir G. Staunton, Vol. I. p.
198-201.]

WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 1801

In the morning of the 14th, the variation by mean of amplitude and
azimuth, was 25 deg. 10' west; the ship's head being E. by S., and our
lati