kewise are considerably lengthened by not
carrying a sufficient quantity of sail.

December 16.

In the afternoon we anchored in Table Bay.

December 17.

The next morning I went on shore and waited on his excellency M. Vander
Graaf who received me in the most polite and friendly manner. The
Guardian, commanded by Lieutenant Riou, had left the Cape about eight
days before with cattle and stores for Port Jackson. This day anchored in
table bay the Astree, a French frigate, commanded by the Count de St.
Rivel from the Isle of France, on board of which ship was the late
governor, the Chevalier d'Entrecasteaux. Other ships that arrived during
my stay at the Cape were a French 40-gun frigate, an East India ship, and
a brig, of the same nation: likewise two other French ships with slaves
from the coast of Mozambique bound to the West Indies: a Dutch packet
from Europe, after a four months passage: and the Harpy, a South Sea
Whaler with 500 barrels of spermaceti, and 400 of seal and other oils.
There is a standing order from the Dutch East India Company that no
person who takes a passage from Batavia for Europe in any of their ships
shall be allowed to leave the ship before she arrives at her intended
port. According to which regulation I must have gone to Holland in the
packet. Of this I was not informed till I was taking leave of the
governor-general at Batavia, when it was too late for him to give the
Captain an order to permit me to land in the channel. He however desired
I would make use of his name to governor Vander Graaf, who readily
complied with my request and gave the necessary orders to the Captain of
the packet, a copy of which his excellency gave to me; and at the same
time recommendatory letters to people of consequence in Holland in case I
should be obliged to proceed so far.

I left a letter at the Cape of Good Hope to be forwarded to governor
Phillips at Port Jackson by the first opportunity, containing a short
account of my voyage with a descriptive list of the pirates: and from
Batavia I had written to Lord Cornwallis, so that every part of India
will be prepared to receive them.

Saturday 2.

We sailed from the Cape in company with the Astree French frigate. The
next morning neither ship nor land were in sight. On the 15th we passed
in sight of the island St. Helena. The 21st we saw the island Ascension.
On the 10th of February, the wind being at north-east blowing fresh, our
sails were covered wi