[Footnote 126:  Batavia Road is reckoned one of the best in the world for size, safety, and goodness of anchorage.  It is open indeed from the north-west to east north-east and east; nevertheless, ships lie quite secure in it, as there are several islands on that side which break the force of the waves.  There is no occasion for mooring stern and stern in it.—­E.]

From this time, to the 24th, we were employed in getting on board the remainder of our water and provisions, with some new pumps, and in several other operations that were necessary to fit the ship for the sea, all which would have been effected much sooner, if sickness and death had not disabled or carried off a great number of our men.

While we lay here, the Earl of Elgin, Captain Cook, a ship belonging to the English East India Company, came to anchor in the road.  She was bound from Madras to China, but having lost her passage, put in here to wait for the next season.  The Phoenix, Captain Black, an English country ship, from Bencoolen, also came to an anchor at this place.

In the afternoon of Christmas-eve, the 24th, I took leave of the governor, and several of the principal gentlemen of the place, with whom I had formed connexions, and from whom I received every possible civility and assistance; but in the mean time an accident happened which might have produced disagreeable consequences.  A seaman had run away from one of the Dutch ships in the road, and entered on board of mine:  The captain had applied to the governor to reclaim him as a subject of Holland, and an order for that purpose was procured:  This order was brought to me soon after I returned from my last visit, and I said, that if the man appeared to be a Dutchman, he should certainly be delivered up.  Mr Hicks commanded on board, and I gave the Dutch officer an order to him to deliver the man up under that condition.  I slept myself this night on shore, and in the morning the captain of the Dutch commodore came and told me that he had carried my order on board, but that the officer had refused to deliver up the man, alleging not only that he was not a Dutchman, but that he was a subject of Great Britain, born in Ireland; I replied, that the officer had perfectly executed my orders, and that if the man was an English subject, it could not be expected that I should deliver him up.  The captain then said, that he was just come from the governor to demand the man of me in his name, as a subject of Denmark, alleging that he stood in the ship’s books as born at Elsineur.  The claim of this man as a subject of Holland being now given up, I observed to the captain that there appeared to be some mistake in the general’s message, for that he would certainly never demand a Danish seaman from me who had committed no other crime than preferring the service of the English to that of the Dutch.  I added, however, to convince him of my sincere desire to avoid disputes, that if the man was a Dane, he