e sparrow hawks and small blue hawks, which we caught
with our hands. We stretched over again to the Orkneys, in order to be
clear of Fairhill; the wind being southeast and southeast by east, we
had foggy and misty weather.

[Footnote 447: "Sea Mirror or Shining Column," an atlas of marine
charts published by Peter Goos of Amsterdam in various editions, in
1654 and later years.]

_31st, Saturday._ We saw the Orkneys this morning, although we had
shifted eight miles during the night. We stretched away from them
again and discovered a strong current, which the nearer Scotland and
the Orkneys it was the stronger it was. It runs mostly east and
east-southeast, and west and west-northwest. The latitude obtained was
59 deg. 26'. At evening we found ourselves about 28 or 32 miles from
Fairhill north-northeast. This is a beautiful round hill, as its name
in English denotes. We held our course with several tacks, over and
back, to reach the North Sea. We saw several ships but could not get
near enough to speak to them.

SEPTEMBER _1st, Sunday._ The weather was misty; the wind as before,
calm. Could not obtain the latitude, but we reckoned we had sailed
about forty miles, east by south. We saw some herring-busses.

_2d, Monday._ The wind continued southeast and south-southeast. The
weather was good but calm and misty. We calculated the latitude 58 deg.
40'. We kept beating from and to the shore.

_3d, Tuesday._ It was still drizzling and calm. We saw several vessels
in which we would gladly have been, in order to see if there were no
opportunity of going in them to Holland, whither they seemed to be
sailing, or at least to obtain some refreshment of fish or something
else; but the captain would not consent. At noon we turned towards the
shore and sailed mostly south.

_4th, Wednesday._ The wind southeast and south-southeast, with dead
water as if we were sailing in a river. We had been near the shore all
night, on various courses, of one, two, and three points difference.
We took a good observation, namely, 58 deg. 8'; the distance sailed was
sixty miles, the course held south-southwest. At noon the water was
greener, and we therefore supposed we were in deeper water. We saw
this morning the four _ockers_,[448] before mentioned behind us, but
we were soon afterwards out of sight of them.

[Footnote 448: Dutch fishing-boats.]

_5th, Thursday._ Our course was east by north and east-northeast, now
a little in, and then aga