A General History & Collection of Voyages and Travels ... - Nauticus

and seldom higher than 54, at the same time of the day, since we left New Zealand.[5][5] "The spirits of all our people were much exhilarated in proportion as we approached tothe tropics, and our sailors diverted themselves with a variety of plays every evening. Thegenial mildness of the air was so welcome to us, after a long absence from it, that we couldnot help preferring the warm climates as the best adapted for the abode of mankind."--G.F.An observation of this sort, the evident result of experience, is worth a thousand treatises,in shewing how much man is the creature of circumstances and situation, and how justlyhis feelings, and of consequence his thoughts, are modified by climate and weather. Somephilosophers, and, perhaps, more religionists, have endeavoured to devise means to renderthe human mind and character independent of physical elements. The attempt is just aboutas rational, and not a bit less presumptuous, than that of making them free of the Divinecognizance and authority, to which these elements are subjected. Such attempts, it seemspretty evident, have been the source of delusive self-congratulation in all ages of the world,and may be ascribed, with no very mighty stretch of fancy, to the same busy agent, bywhom, in the earliest stage of our nature, man was tempted with the alluring hope ofbecoming "as God." A wiser and more benevolent instructor would teach him, on thecontrary, to acknowledge his dependences and avoiding forbidden things, to partake withcheerfulness of the material blessings which surround him. This is genuine confidence inthe Supreme Ruler, though, to be sure, it has little or no charms for the obstinate stoic, orthe conceited pharisee. But "wisdom, it is certain, will be justified of all who are under itsinfluence."--E.This day was remarkable by our not seeing a single bird. Not one had passed since we left the land,without seeing some of the following birds, viz. albatrosses, sheerwaters, pintadoes, blue peterels,and Port Egmont hens. But these frequent every part of the Southern Ocean in the higher latitudes:Not a bird, nor any other thing, was seen that could induce us to think that we had ever been in theneighbourhood of any land.The wind kept veering round from the S. by the W. to N.N.W., with which we stretched north tillnoon the next day, when, being in the latitude of 29° 22', we tacked and stretched to the westward.The wind soon increased to a very hard gale, attended with rain, and blew in such heavy squalls as tosplit the most of our sails. This weather continued till the morning of the 25th, when the windbecame more moderate, and veered to N.W. and W.N.W., with which we steered and stretched to N.E., being at that time in the latitude of 29° 51', longitude 130° 28' W. In the afternoon the sky clearedup, and the weather became fair and settled. We now met the first tropic bird we had seen in this sea.On the 26th, in the afternoon, being in the latitude of 28° 44', we had several observations of the sunand moon, which gave the longitude 135° 30' W. My reckoning at the same time was 135° 27', and Ihad no occasion to correct it since I left the land. We continued to stretch to the north, with lightbreezes from the westward, till noon, the next day, when we were stopped by a calm; our latitude atthis time being 27° 53', longitude 135° 17' W. In the evening, the calm was succeeded by a breezefrom the N. and N.W., with which we plied to the N.On the 29th I sent on board the Adventure to enquire into the state of her crew, having heard thatthey were sickly; and this I now found was but too true. Her cook was dead, and about twenty of herbest men were down in the scurvy and flux. At this time we had only three men on the sick list, andonly one of them attacked with the scurvy. Several more, however, began to shew symptoms of it,and were accordingly put upon the wort, marmalade of carrots, rob of lemons and oranges.I know not how to account for the scurvy raging more in the one ship than the other, unless it wasowing to the crew of the Adventure being more scorbutic when they arrived in New Zealand than we