Leaving the Acores, and getting into Spanish sea, or mouth of the bay of Biscay, the weather proved so bad that the Advice-ship lost her rudder, which obliged her to go through the Channel in order to purchase a new one on the coast of England.  The French, Danish, and other ships, generally go that way; but the Dutch ships generally go round Ireland and north about, from an idea, if they should happen to meet with stormy weather in the channel, so as to be obliged to go into an English port, that this might occasion several inconveniences.  Such ships, however, as have sustained any damage at sea, are permitted to take their way through the channel.  The rest of the Dutch fleet followed the north-about course; and after three weeks, during which they were involved in perpetual mists and fogs, they had sight at length of the Orkney islands, where some Dutch ships were still engaged in the herring fishery.  In the latitude of 60 deg.  N. they met some ships of war that waited for them, and convoyed them to the coast of Holland, where all the ships got into their destined ports in safety.  Those on board of which were our author, and the other prisoners, came into the Texel on the 11th of July, 1723; and arrived five days afterwards at Amsterdam, the very same day two years after sailing on their voyage.

The West-Company immediately commenced a law-suit against the East-India Company, in behalf of themselves and all the persons engaged in their service in the foregoing voyage, to obtain satisfaction for the injury and injustice done them at Batavia.  After a long litigation, the States-General decreed, that the East-India Company should furnish the West-India Company with two new ships, completely fitted for sea in every respect, better than those which had been confiscated by their officers in India, and should pay the full value of their cargoes.  Also, that the East-India Company should pay the wages of the crews of both ships, up to the day of their landing in Holland:  Together with the entire costs of suit; besides a considerable sum by way of fine, as a punishment for having abused their authority so egregiously.[7]

[Footnote 7:  Harris has given a report of this law-suit at some length, but it did not seem necessary to give any more than the result, as quite uninteresting at the present day.—­E.]

CHAPTER XIV.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY CAPTAIN GEORGE ANSON, IN THE YEARS 1740-1744.[1]

PREFACE.

Though of considerable length, the importance of this narrative forbids all attempts to alter it in any respect; except that it has been necessary to leave out the explanations of several engraved views of coasts and harbours, inserted in the original, but which were greatly too large for admission, and would have been rendered totally useless by being reduced to any convenient use for the octavo form of this