[Footnote 22:  Most probably what we now call arrack is here meant.—­E.]

Accordingly, on the 8th of December, 1592, we made sail for the Cape of Good Hope, passing the Maldive Islands, and leaving the great island of St Lawrence to starboard, or on our right hand; we passed its southern end in lat. 26 deg.  S. In our passage from the island of St Lawrence, or Madagascar, to the main-land of Africa, we found immense quantities of bonitos and albicores, which, are large fishes, and of which our captain, who was now recovered from his sickness, took as many with a hook in two or three hours as would have served forty persons a whole day.  This skole of fish continued with us for five or six weeks, in all which time we took every day as many as sufficed our whole company, which was no small refreshment to us.

In February, 1593, we fell in with the eastern coast of Africa, at a place called Baia de Agoa, something more than 100 leagues to the north-east of the Cape of Good Hope; and having contrary winds, we spent a month before we could double the cape.  After doubling that cape in March, we steered for the island of St Helena, where we arrived on the 3d of April, and remained there to our great comfort nineteen days, in which time several individuals amongst us caught thirty sizeable congers in a day, with other rock fish, and some bonitos.  I, Edmund Barker, went one day on shore, with four or five Peguers and our surgeon, where I found an Englishman in a house near the chapel, one John Segar, of Bury, in Suffolk, who was left there eighteen months before by Abraham Kendal; who put in there with the Royal Merchant, and who left him there to refresh on the island, being like to perish on shipboard.  At our coming he was fresh in colour, and seemed in perfect health of body; but he was crazed in mind, and half out of his wits, as appeared afterwards.  Whether it was that he was terrified at our arrival, not knowing at first whether we were friends or foes, or if sudden joy so affected him on finding again his countrymen and old comrades, I know not, but he became quite light headed, and during eight days and nights he could not get any natural rest, so that he died for lack of sleep.  At this place two of our men recovered their health in a short time, one of whom was diseased with the scurvy, and the other had been nine months sick of the flux.  We found abundance of green figs, fine oranges and lemons, plenty of goats and hogs, and numbers of partridges, pintados, and other wild fowls.  Having now supplied the ship with fresh water, and having some store of fish, our discontented mariners insisted upon resuming the voyage home; and our captain, being inclined to go for Fernambuco, in Brasil, agreed to their request.  We departed therefore from St Helena about the 12th April, 1593, directing our course for the Brasils; and next day, on calling the sailors to finish a foresail they had then in hand, some of them declared they would not put their