up the ports, hoisted in the launch and pinnace, and at noon steered away west under an easy sail, hoping to save their passage before the western monsoon set in; the carpenters being fully occupied in fishing the masts and yards, and the rest of the crew in mending the rigging.  At six in the evening of the 31st May, 1721, the body of the island of Guam bore E. seven leagues distant, and they then took their departure; being in 15 deg. 20’ N. designing now for China.

The conduct of Captain Clipperton at Guam was certainly exceedingly erroneous.  He ought on no account to have permitted the marquis to go on shore till he had received the money for his ransom, and all the provisions of which he stood in need.  The marquis had before behaved very ill to him, and had no title to any favour; and if he had kept the marquis, the governor of Guam would not have had any opportunity of putting his schemes in execution.  Clipperton committed also an egregious error in pretending to attack the town, and the ship in the harbour.  Though drunkenness is rather an aggravation than an excuse for misconduct, yet it is to be considered that Clipperton was a mere sailor, who had not the benefit of a liberal education, and that he fell into this sad vice from disappointment and despair.  On all occasions he had shewn a humane and even generous disposition, with the most inflexible honesty, and a constant regard to the interest of his owners.  He is therefore much to be pitied, for having fled to the bottle under a load of misfortunes too heavy for him to bear.

The voyage upon which they had now to enter was very dangerous, the run from Manilla to China being estimated at 400 leagues; besides that the distance they had now to sail was much greater.  They had only received a very moderate addition to their former scanty stock of provisions; and their vessel had been so roughly handled in the late unfortunate affair, that they were very apprehensive she would not last out the voyage.  On careful examination, she was found to be in a very shattered condition, having scarcely a whole timber in her upper works, and one of her fashion pieces being shot through, which is a principal support of the after-part of the ship, they were obliged to strap her, to keep her together.  As it blew pretty fresh, they durst not carry sail, and for nearly a week together had to scud almost under bare poles, through variable winds, bad weather, and a rough sea.  This was a melancholy situation for the people, in seas with which they were little acquainted, and sailing by charts on which they could not depend.  Yet they found the accounts and charts of Dampier much superior to those laid down by persons of much greater figure, so that without these they had hardly been able to have extricated themselves from their difficulties.  The 24th June they were in sight of the Bashee Islands, in lat. 20 deg. 45’ N. long. 121 deg. 40’ E. On the 31st they saw the island-shoals