n of the variation, from observations taken both in the fore and
afternoon, was 1 deg. 20' E.

At half-past three in the afternoon, we lost sight of the land; and, from
its breaking off so suddenly, conjectured, that what we had seen this day
is an island, or, perhaps, a cluster of islands, lying off the main land of
Japan; but as the islands, called by Jansen the Schildpads, and by Mr
D'Anville Matsima, though laid down nearly in the same situation, are not
equal in extent to the land seen by us, we must leave this point undecided.
Having kept a S.W. course during the remaining part of the day, we found
ourselves, at midnight, in seventy fathoms water, over a bottom of fine
dark-brown sand. We therefore hauled up to the eastward, till morning, when
we saw the land again, about eleven leagues to the southward of that which
we had seen the day before; and at eight, we were within six or seven miles
of the shore, having carried, in regular soundings, from sixty-five to
twenty fathoms, over coarse sand and gravel. Unluckily there was a haze
over the land, which hindered our distinguishing small objects on it. The
coast is straight and unbroken, and runs nearly in a N, and S. direction.
Toward the sea the ground is low, but rises gradually into hills of a
moderate height, whose tops are tolerably even, and covered with wood.

At nine o'clock, the wind shifting to the southward, and the sky lowring,
we tacked and stood off to the E., and soon after, we saw a vessel, close
in with the land, standing along the shore to the northward, and another in
the offing, coming down on us before the wind. Objects of any kind,
belonging to a country so famous, and yet so little known, it will be
easily conceived, must have excited a general curiosity, and accordingly
every soul on board was upon deck in an instant, to gaze at them. As the
vessel to windward approached us, she hauled farther off shore; upon which,
fearing that we should alarm them by the appearance of a pursuit, we
brought the ships to, and she passed ahead of us, at the distance of about
half a mile. It would have been easy for us to have spoken with them; but
perceiving, by their manoeuvres, that they were much frightened, Captain
Gore was not willing to augment their terrors; and, thinking that we should
have many better opportunities of communication with this people, suffered
them to go off without interruption. Our distance did not permit us to
remark any particular r