powers, that life would be inſupportable, were it not for the hope of a ſpeedy termination of the diſorder.
From the day of our ſetting ſail, to the 5th of October, we had ſlight breezes, that varied between the north and eaſt points of the compaſs. From that time to our arrival at Teneriffe, they blew pretty freſh, varying between the north and north-eaſt. This alteration in the ſtate of the wind gave us no ſmall uneaſineſs, as in our ſituation it might become productive of the moſt fatal conſequences. Lumbered as we were in every part of the veſſel, and drawing conſiderably above the load-water line, we ran the riſk of being overſet by a ſudden ſquall: beſides, the ſtowage had been very negligently performed. In this diſorderly ſtate we had ſailed from France, although the expedition had been decreed by the National Aſſembly almoſt eight months before it took place.
On the 11th of October, about fifty-five minutes after ten o'clock, we obſerved an eclipſe of the moon. The obſervations that can be taken at ſea, lead to no very accurate reſults. Citizen Willaumez, however, concluded, from one which he took, that we were now in the longitude of 18° 19′ 45″ W. On the 12th, about eight in the
morning,
