o him that the Centurion was
gone to the bottom, and that these were her two boats coming back with
the remains of her people; and this sudden and unexpected suggestion
wrought on him so powerfully, that, to conceal his emotion, he was
obliged (without speaking to any one) instantly to retire to his tent,
where he past some bitter moments, in the firm belief that the ship
was lost, and that now all his views of farther distressing the enemy,
and of still signalizing his expedition by some important exploit,
were at an end.

But he was soon relieved from these disturbing thoughts, by
discovering that the two boats in the offing were Indian proas,
and, perceiving that they stood towards the shore, he directed every
appearance that could give them any suspicion to be removed, and
concealed his people in the adjacent thickets, prepared to secure
the Indians when they should land; but, after the proas had stood in
within a quarter of a mile of the land, they suddenly stopt short,
and remaining there motionless for near two hours, they then made
sail again, and stood to the southward.--To return to the projected
enlargement of the bark.

If we examine how they were prepared for going through with this
undertaking, on which their safely depended, we shall find, that,
independent of other matters which were of as much importance, the
lengthening of the bark alone was attended with great difficulty.
Indeed, in a proper place, where all the necessary materials and tools
were to be had, the embarrassment would have been much less; but
some of these tools were to be made, and many of the materials were
wanting; and it required no small degree of invention to supply all
these deficiences. And when the hull of the bark should be completed,
this was but one article; and there were many others of equal weight,
which were to be well considered: These were the rigging it, the
victualling it, and, lastly, the navigating it, for the space of six
or seven hundred leagues, through unknown seas, where no one of the
company had ever passed before. In some of these particulars
such obstacles occurred, that, without the intervention of very
extraordinary and unexpected accidents, the possibility of the whole
enterprise would have fallen to the ground, and their utmost industry
and efforts must have been fruitless. Of all these circumstances I
shall make a short recital.

It fortunately happened that the carpenters, both of the Gloucester
an