buoy.[9] The sails were clewed up, and the ship hove to. This manoeuvre was
long; we should have come to the wind, as soon as they cried, "a man
overboard," it is true that somebody cried aloud from the poop, that he was
saved; and a sailor had indeed caught him by the arm, but he had been
obliged to let him go, because he would have been pulled overboard himself:
a boat was however let down; it was a six-oared barge in which there were
only three men: it was all in vain; and after having looked for some time,
the boat came on board again without having found even the buoy. If the
unfortunate youth, who seemed to swim pretty well, had strength to reach
it, he doubtless perished on it, after having experienced the most cruel
sufferings. The ship was trimmed, and we resumed our course.

The _Echo_ rejoined us, and for some time she kept within hail; but we soon
lost her. On the 26th, we plied to windward during the night, fearing lest
we should strike on the eight rocks, which are situated the most
_Northerly_, in 34° 45', Latitude, and the most _Southerly_ in latitude,
34° 30', so that the extent of this danger is about five leagues from
_North_ to _South_ and about four leagues from _East_ to _West_: the most
southerly rock is distant about forty leagues to the _North_, 5° East, from
the East point of Madeira.

On the 27th, in the morning we expected to see the island of Madeira, we
however proceeded to no purpose till noon, at which hour we made an
observation to ascertain our situation. The solar observation made us East,
and West of Porto Santo; we continued on the same tack, and in the evening
at sunset, the man at the mast head discovered, land.[10] This error in the
arrival, was at least thirty leagues in the East. It was attributed to the
currents of the straits of Gibraltar; if this error really arises from the
currents of the strait, it merits the attention of vessels which frequent
these seas. The whole night we proceeded with few sails up; at midnight we