themselves had a more fertile and beautiful appearance than any we had seen before, and, like the rest, swarmed with people, whose habitations we saw standing in clusters all along the coast.  We saw also a large vessel under sail, at a little distance from the shore; but to our unspeakable regret we were obliged to leave the place without farther examination, for it was surrounded in every direction by rocks and breakers, which rendered the hazard more than equivalent to every advantage we might procure.  At this time I took these for part of the islands called Solomon’s Islands, and was in hopes that I should fall in with others of them, in some of which we might find an harbour.

The reef of rocks which we first saw as we approached these islands, lies in latitude 10 deg.15’S. longitude 169 deg.28’ W. and it bears from Prince of Wales’s Island N.76 deg.48’ W. distant 352 leagues.  The islands bear from the reef W.N.W. distant nine leagues:  I called them the Islands of Danger, and steered from them N.W. by W. allowing for the variation.

After having seen the breakers soon after it was light in the morning, I told my officers that I apprehended we should have frequent alarms in the night; at night, therefore, every body was upon the watch, which a very hard squall of wind, with rain, rendered the more necessary.  About nine o’clock, having just gone down into my cabin, I heard a great noise above, and when I enquired what was the matter, I was told that the Tamar, who was a-head, had fired a gun, and that our people saw breakers to leeward:  I ran instantly upon deck, and soon perceived that what had been taken for breakers was nothing more than the undulating reflection of the moon, which was going down, and shone faintly from behind a cloud in the horizon; we therefore bore away after the Tamar, but did not get sight of her till an hour afterwards.

Nothing worthy of notice happened till Monday the 24th when, about ten o’clock in the morning, we discovered another island, bearing S.S.W. distant about seven or eight leagues:  We steered for it, and found it to be low, but covered with wood, among which were cocoa-nut trees in great abundance.  It had a pleasant appearance, and a large lake in the middle, like King George’s Island:  It is near thirty miles in circumference, a dreadful sea breaks upon almost every part of the coast, and a great deal of foul ground lies about it.  We sailed quite round it, and when we were on the lee-side, sent out boats to sound, in hopes of finding anchorage:  No soundings, however, were to be got near the shore, but I sent the boats out a second time, with orders to land, if it were possible, and procure some refreshments for the sick:  they landed with great difficulty, and brought off about two hundred cocoa-nuts, which, to persons in our circumstances, were an inestimable treasure.  The people who were on shore, reported that there were no signs of its having ever been inhabited,