seen the train of ills that were to follow
the decay of the Investigator and prevent the survey being resumed--and
had my existence depended upon the expression of a wish, I do not know
that it would have received utterance; but Infinite Wisdom has, in
infinite mercy, reserved the knowledge of futurity to itself.

[NORTH COAST. TOWARDS TIMOR.]

(Atlas Plate I.)

On quitting Wessel's Islands, we steered a north-west course all night,
under easy sail; having a warrant officer placed at the look-out, and the
lead hove every quarter of an hour. The soundings increased very
gradually till daylight [MONDAY 7 MARCH 1803], when we had 30 fathoms;
and no land being distinguishable, the course was then altered to W. by
S. Our latitude at noon was 10 deg. 56' 40", longitude by timekeeper 135 deg.
10'; and I judged that part of the coast seen by lieutenant McCluer, in
1791, to lie about fifty miles to the southward. This was the first land
seen by him in his course from New Guinea; and according to the
comparison afterwards made of his longitude, it should not lie more than
twelve leagues from the western part of Point Dale.

Mr. McCluer saw some islands near the coast, and amongst others an outer
one called New Year's Isle, in latitude 10 deg. 52' south and 133 deg. 12' east,
which I purposed to visit in the hope of procuring turtle. But our
friendly trade wind gradually died away, and was succeeded by light airs
from the N. W. and S. W., by calms, and afterwards by light winds from
the north-eastward; so that it was not until daylight of the 12th
[SATURDAY 12 MARCH 1803], that the island was seen. At eleven o'clock,
lieutenant Fowler went on shore to examine the beach for traces of
turtle; but finding none recent, he returned before two, and we again
made sail to the westward.

New Year's Isle is a bed of sand mixed with broken coral, thrown up on a
coral reef. It is four or five miles in circumference, and the higher
parts are thickly covered with shrubs and brush wood; but much of it is
over-run with mangroves, and laid under water by the tide. Fresh prints
of feet on the sand showed that the natives had either visited it very
lately, or were then upon the island; turtle also had been there, but
their traces were of an old date. The reef extends about a mile off, all
round; we had 22 fathoms very near the outer edge, and saw no other
danger. Broken land was perceived to the southward, probably the inner
isles marked by lie