The commencement of our voyage was remarkably pleasant. Besides the
favourable breeze, which still continued, we enjoyed the company of
a fine Belgian brig, the Rubens, which had put to sea at the same
time as ourselves. It was seldom that we approached near enough for
the persons on board to converse with each other; but whoever is at
all acquainted with the endless uniformity of long voyages, will
easily understand our satisfaction at knowing we were even in the
neighbourhood of human beings.
We pursued the same track as far as the Philippine Islands, but on
the morning of the third day our companion had disappeared, leaving
us in ignorance whether she had out-sailed us or we her. We were
once more alone on the endless waste of waters.
On the 23rd of May, we approached very near to the low island of
Penchyn. A dozen or two of the natives were desirous of honouring
us with a visit, and pulled stoutly in six canoes towards our ship,
but we sailed so fast that they were soon left a long way behind.
Several of the sailors affirmed, that these were specimens of real
savages, and that we might reckon ourselves fortunate in having
escaped their visit. The captain, too, appeared to share this
opinion, and I was the only person who regretted not having formed a
more intimate acquaintance with them.
28th May. For some days we had been fortunate enough to be visited,
from time to time, with violent showers; a most remarkable thing for
the time of year in this climate, where the rainy season commences
in January and lasts for three months, the sky for the remaining
nine being generally cloudless. This present exception was the more
welcome from our being just on the Line, where we should otherwise
have suffered much from the heat. The thermometer stood at only 81
degrees in the shade, and 97 degrees in the sun.
Today at noon we crossed the Line, and were once more in the
northern hemisphere. A Tahitian sucking-pig was killed and consumed
in honour of our successful passage, and our native hemisphere
toasted in real hock.
On the 4th of June, under 8 degrees North latitude, we beheld again,
for the first time, the lovely polar star.
On the 17th of June, we passed so near to Saypan, one of the largest
of the Ladrone Islands, that we could make out the mountains very
distinctly. The Ladrone and Marianne Islands are situated between
the 13 and 21 degrees North latitude, and the 145 and 146 degrees
East longitude.
On the 1st of July we again saw land:
