fifty-six days, in which time, if they were not joined by the Commodore,
they might conclude that some accident had befallen him; and they were
forthwith to put themselves under the command of the senior officer, who
was to use his utmost endeavours to annoy the enemy both by sea and land.
With these views their new Commodore was to continue in those seas as
long as his provisions lasted, or as long as they were recruited by what
he should take from the enemy, reserving only a sufficient quantity to
carry him and the ships under his command to Macao at the entrance of the
River Tigris, near Canton, on the coast of China, where, having supplied
himself with a new stock of provisions he was thence without delay to
make the best of his way to England.

(*Note. Nuestra Senora del Socoro is one of the smaller outer islands of
the Chonos Archipelago on the western coast of Patagonia.)

The next day we had very squally weather, attended with rain, lightning,
and thunder; but it soon became fair again, with light breezes, and
continued thus till Wednesday evening, when it blew fresh again; and
increasing all night, by eight the next morning it became a most violent
storm, and we had with it so thick a fog that it was impossible to see at
the distance of two ships' lengths, so that the whole squadron
disappeared.* On this a signal was made by firing guns, to bring to with
the larboard tacks, the wind being then due east. We ourselves lay to
under a reefed mizzen till noon, when the fog dispersed; and we soon
discovered all the ships of the squadron, except the Pearl, which did not
join us till near a month afterwards. The Trial sloop was a great way to
leeward, having lost her mainmast in this squall, and having been
obliged, for fear of bilging, to cut away the wreck. We bore down with
the squadron to her relief, and the Gloucester was ordered to take her in
tow, for the weather did not entirely abate until the day after, and even