And had applied to some boatmen to
convey him on board, which might have been soon accomplished but they,
discovering the emergency of his case, demanded an exorbitant reward
which he was not at the instant prepared to satisfy; and in consequence
they positively refused to assist him. Though he had travelled nine
successive days, almost without rest, he could not be prevailed upon to
withdraw from the agreeable scene of a ballroom in which he joined us
until a late hour.
On the 10th, the rain having ceased, the observations for ascertaining
the dip of the needle were repeated; and the results compared with the
former ones gave a mean of 74 degrees 33 minutes 20 seconds. Nearly the
same differences were remarked in reversing the face of the instrument as
before. An attempt was also made to ascertain the magnetic force but the
wind blew too strong for procuring the observation to any degree of
accuracy.
The fineness of the following day induced us to set up the different
instruments for examination and to try how nearly the observations made
by each of them would agree; but a squall passed over just before noon,
accompanied by heavy rain, and the hoped-for favourable opportunity was
entirely lost. In the intervals between the observations, and at every
opportunity, my companions were occupied in those pursuits to which their
attention had been more particularly directed in my instructions.
