Omai left London with a mixture of regret and satisfaction.  When we talked about England, and about those who, during his stay, had honoured him with their protection or friendship, I could observe that his spirits were sensibly affected, and that it was with difficulty he could refrain from tears.  But the instant the conversation turned to his own islands, his eyes began to sparkle with joy.  He was deeply impressed with a sense of the good treatment he had met with in England, and entertained the highest ideas of the country and of the people; but the pleasing prospect he now had before him of returning home, loaded with what he well knew would be esteemed invaluable treasures there, and the flattering hope which the possession of these gave him, of attaining to a distinguished superiority amongst his countrymen, were considerations which operated, by degrees, to suppress every uneasy sensation; and he seemed to be quite happy when he got on board the ship.

He was furnished by his majesty with an ample provision of every article which, during our intercourse with his country, we had observed to be in any estimation there, either as useful or as ornamental.  He had, besides, received many presents of the same nature from Lord Sandwich, Sir Joseph Banks, and several other gentlemen and ladies of his acquaintance.  In short, every method had been employed, both during his abode in England, and at his departure, to make him the instrument of conveying to the inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, the most exalted opinion of the greatness and generosity of the British nation.

While the Resolution lay at the Nore, Mr King made several observations for finding the longitude by the watch.  The mean of them all gave 0 deg. 44’ 0” for the longitude of the ship.  This, reduced to Sheerness, by the bearing and estimated distance, will make that place to be 0 deg. 37’ 0” E. of Greenwich, which is more by seven miles than Mr Lyons made it by the watch which Lord Mulgrave had with him, on his voyage toward the North Pole.  Whoever knows any thing of the distance between Sheerness and Greenwich, will be a judge which of these two observations is nearest the truth.

The variation of the needle here, by a mean of different sets, taken with different compasses, was 20 deg. 37’ W.

On the 25th, about noon, we weighed anchor, and made sail for the Downs through the Queen’s Channel, with a gentle breeze at N.W. by W. At nine in the evening we anchored, with the North Foreland bearing S. by E. and Margate Point S.W. by S.

Next morning, at two o’clock, we weighed and stood round the Foreland; and when it bore north by the compass, the watch gave 1 deg. 24’ E. longitude, which, reduced to the Foreland, will be 1 deg. 21’ E. Lunar observations made the preceding evening, fixed it at 1 deg. 20’ E. At eight o’clock the same morning we anchored in the Downs.  Two boats had been built for us at Deal, and I immediately sent on shore for them.  I was told that many people had assembled there to see Omai, but, to their great disappointment, he did not land.