1828, to the Warspite, 76, Captain Wm. Parker, also at Plymouth; 22nd January, 1829, to the Kent, 78, Captains John Ferris Devonshire and Samuel Pym, in which ship he returned to the Mediterranean; 29th July, 1831, as Senior, to the Rapid, 10, Captain Charles Henry Swinburne, on the latter station, whence he came home and was paid off in July 1833; 11th December, 1833, in a similar capacity to the Endymion, 50, Captain Sir Samuel Roberts, under whom he was afresh, for nearly three years, employed in the Mediterranean and off Lisbon; and 26th November, 1836, again as First, to the Stag, 46, Captain Thomas Ball Sulivan, fitting for South America. He was promoted to the rank of Commander, 10th January, 1837; and on 1st February, 1838, he was appointed, in that capacity, to the Hastings, 72, Captains Francis Erskine Loch and John Lawrence. Under Captain Loch he escorted the Earl of Durham to Quebec, and the Queen Dowager to and from the island of Malta; and under Captain Lawrence he took an active part in the operations of 1840 on the coast of Syria. In command of the boats of his own ship, and of the Edinburgh, 72, he led a gallant and hazardous attack upon the castle and magazine at Beyrout, and succeeded in destroying a train which had been laid to the latter for the purpose of exploding it on the landing of the British. He afterwards, having handsomely volunteered his services, united in a second attack made by the boats of the same ships, under the orders of Commander Francis Decimus Hastings, of the Edinburgh; and on this occasion he received a severe contusion. As a reward for his conduct he was promoted to the rank he now holds, 5th November, 1840. He left the Hastings in the following January; and had been in command, since 12th December, 1845, of the Calypso, 18, in the Pacific; which ship he paid off at Chatham, last year. On this occasion he suffered some very severe illness, from a return of which he died, at Englefield Green, on the 27th of June, at the early age of fifty-one. The following observations made by him while he had the Calypso, will be useful to ships bound to the Pacific.]

Having sailed from Plymouth, on the evening of the 18th March, 1846, with the wind from the northward and westward, attended with squalls, hail, and thick weather, ther. 38°, made the Lizard on the following night at 11h. P.M., when the wind drew more to the westward, and increased to a gale, with a heavy sea, which lasted with little intermission until the 28th, when the wind shifted to the northward and eastward.

On the 29th the wind again shifted to the southward and westward, and so continued (with the exception of a few hours when it blew from the northward) until the 11th April; when, failing in the object of reaching Madeira, from the succession of bad weather and westerly winds, anchored off Santa Cruz, Teneriffe, in 34 fathoms, black mud and sand.

On the evening of the 14th April, having set up the lower-rigging and completed water, sailed from Teneriffe, with a fine trade-wind,

communicated with H.M.S. Scout a short time after leaving the anchorage, and found that she had sailed from Plymouth ten days later than the Calypso, and had experienced even worse weather, with the same continuance of westerly winds. Made the west point of St. Antonio (Cape de Verds) on the morning of the 20th, and shaped a course for 18° on the line, losing the N.E. trade-wind on the 25th, in lat. 5° N., and meeting the S.E. trade on the 2nd May, in lat. 1° 5′ S.,. the interval being a succession of calms, light airs, and squalls of rain. On the 10th, being then in lat. 19° S., the wind drew more easterly, and finally to the westward and southward; from which points it continued till the 13th, when, after a calm of thirty-six hours, it sprung up from the southward and eastward, which enabled the ship to reach Cape Frio on the 18th. Anchored off the castle of Santa Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, on the evening of the same day, in 7% fathoms, fine sand, Sugar-loaf bearing N.W.b.W., Raza, S.W., Santa Cruz, N., W.; in consequence of having anchored too close to the bar the ship rolled considerably.

Whilst at Rio we experienced, generally speaking, fine weather; though at times violent rain accompanied by thunder and lightning. intervened.

Sailed from Rio on the morning of the 28th May, with a fine N.E. wind, which, however, only lasted until the 30th, when it veered round to S. W., and afterwards to a strong gale, attended with violent squalls. The barometer rose from 29.99 to 30-38 during this gale (Pampero) which lasted till the 4th June, when the wind drew round by S. to S.E., and on the 6th, to the E. and N.E., the barometer rising to 30.50.

On the 7th, in lat. 40° 29′ S., long. 47° 7′ W., the wind changed to W.N.W., with occasional rain attended with mist and very thick fog at times, the barometer gradually falling to 30-18. From the 7th to the 10th, the wind continued moderate, from W. to S.W., with occasional squalls and thick cloudy weather, barometer averaging 30-35. On the 12th, a strong breeze from north, with thick fog and rain, barometer falling to 29.90. On the 13th and 14th, wind shifted to W. and S.W., moderate but with the same thick misty weather; passed to the eastward of the Falklands, but could not sight them; it being originally intended to pass to the westward of them, had the wind and weather permitted.

On the 15th the weather still continuing very thick, cold, and with extremely dense fog, the wind changed from N. to N.W., and increased to a gale, the water being tolerably smooth; this gale took the ship within 180 miles of Diego Ramerez Islands by noon on the 16th, when it veered round to W., and continued to blow exceedingly strong, with a high sea accompanied with heavy squalls, rain, and snow; barometer fell from 30-07 to 29-65, thermometer 45°; the ship standing to the southward. On the 18th, the wind shifted to S.S.W., being then in lat. 58° 11' S., long. 65° 41′ W., the wind moderating for a few hours, when it again increased to a strong gale, with squalls, sleet, and rain,

barometer rose to 29-70, and again fell to 29-35, as the wind drew to the westward.

On the 20th and 21st, a light breeze from S.S.E., barometer, 29-60, thermometer, 30° and during the night 27°; the weather being clear but extremely cold, the ship, guns, and ropes being coated with thick ice. On the 21st, the wind shifted to N.W., and increased to a strong gale, with thick fog, sleet, and rain, and so continued till noon on the 24th, when it moderated, barometer falling, 29.07. From the 24th to the 26th, the wind varied between N.W. and W.S.W., but rose again on the following day to a strong gale, with fog and severe squalls; barometer, 29.94.

On the 28th, the wind gradually fell until almost a calm, with drizling rain, and fog, barometer fell to 29-27. On the 29th, a light breeze sprung up from N.E., which veered round to E., and shifted on the following day to S., blowing a gale, with dark cloudy weather; barometer falling to 28.98, lat. 58° 18' S., long. 83° 37′ W.

On the 1st July, a fresh gale from W., attended with misty, rainy weather; between the 1st and 7th, the wind was more moderate, and principally from the westward.

On the 8th and 9th, the wind shifted to the E.N.E., and blew a fresh gale, with hard squalls, and passing showers of sleet and rain, which took the ship to lat. 38° S.

After passing the parallel of 40° S., steered for Valparaiso, expecting to meet the usual leading winds from S. to W.; but, in lat. 38° 20', we encountered a very strong gale from N., with an exceedingly high sea, which lasted till the 12th, when it moderated, but continued in the same quarter till the 14th, when it changed to S., with fine weather. Made Valparaiso Light a little before daylight on the 17th, and anchored at 3h. P.M., in 25 fathoms, the passage from Rio Janeiro having occupied forty-nine days.

During this passage the lowest latitude reached was 60° 38′ S., being then in long. 74° 45' W., the greatest west longitude 84° 37', having been thirteen days working to the westward-before putting her head to the northward. The lowest range of the thermometer was 28° and the lowest meridian altitude, 6° 30', the shortest day being seven hours.

The greatest disadvantage of a winter's passage round the Horn is the very low altitude of the sun, and consequent short days, which prevents much sail being carried, as from the extreme cold, and stiffness of the ropes and canvas, shortening sail at night, in the violent squalls which frequently occur, is both difficult and dangerous; had we been fortunate enough to have had a good moon when off the Cape, of course this difficulty would have been much lessened.

It was observed that the barometer invariably rose with a gale, and fell as the wind moderated, and that it always stood highest when the wind was from the northward and westward.

Having met a few weeks after at Callao, the English barque La Bonne Mère, from Cardiff, laden with coals-out 128 days; found she

had in the month of July, when in lat. 59° 19′ S., long. 54° 0′ W., been entangled for fourteen days with large fields of ice, from which she had suffered considerably in the sheathing and copper of her sides and bottom.

A few days after the ship's arrival at Valparaiso, two violent gales were experienced (northers) accompanied with heavy rain and considerable sea; during the height of the second gale a large foreign merchant ship arrived and anchored in our hawse, and drove till close to us-although we veered as much cable as possible-and caused much uneasiness during the night.

There appears but little danger to be apprehended if a ship's ground tackle be good, and she has a sufficiently outside berth to avoid being fouled by ship's at anchor in the bay, which is often crowded, and with little or no attention paid as to their situation, or method of mooring; the offset in this bay, being very strong, relieves vessels from much of the strain on their cables.

Sailed from Valparaiso, for Callao, on the 25th July, and after a fine weather passage of nine days, and experiencing the usual southerly winds, arrived on the 3rd August.

Callao at this season of the year is subjected to heavy fogs in the morning, but which usually clear away between ten and twelve o'clock in the forenoon; as the season advances (towards the latter end of November) these fogs disappear.

The number of English shipping frequenting this anchorage has largely increased of late, in consequence of the great quantity of guano shipped at the Chincha Islands for England; indeed the trade of Peru generally has considerably extended of late years.

Nothing can be finer or more safe than the anchorage in this extensive bay, the only shoal to be avoided being the spit which runs out from Callao beach, and which forms the south part of the bay; this, however, so completely shows itself that no vessel, but from the greatest carelessness, could be endangered by it; a part of the spit-the whale's back-dries at half tide.

The south-western side of the bay is formed by the island of San Lorenzo, six miles west of Callao, on which is a convict establishment. There being very good anchorage off this island, in 6 to 8 fathoms, the shore being bold, and the bottom clear, it is very convenient for men-of-war to practice firing at targets erected on shore, and thereby saving their shot; as also for landing marines, small arm men, &c., for exercising, permission having first to be obtained from the government authorities. We took advantage of this and had some very good practice, as also some excellent seine fishing, fish being very plentiful in every part of the bay.

On the 21st November we got underway and sailed out to the Formigas rocks, for the purpose of exercising; and on the 22nd stood in for the back of the islands of San Lorenzo and Frontera, running down outside the rocks Los Palominos, carrying 18 fathoms water, which depth we likewise found at nearly a mile outside San Lorenzo; on these rocks we landed a party of officers and men, to shoot sea lions, which frequent them in great numbers.

On the 16th December sailed from Callao for Puntas Arenas, in the Gulf of Nicoya, Central America, and steered to pass midway between the Galapagos and the mainland, in order to avoid the frequent calms which prevail in the vicinity of those Islands.

The S.E. trade wind carried the ship past the line, which was crossed in 85° W. long., having found a westerly and north-westerly current averaging eighteen miles daily. When past the line steered for the island of Cocos, principally with the view of avoiding the indraft of the Gulf of Panama, as also the unsettled weather which more or less prevails in it; the island was sighted on the 26th, the current having gradually decreased on advancing to the northward.

Cocos is high, and luxuriantly wooded from the summit to the edge of the cliffs, and has several detached rocky islets also thickly wooded, several streams of water were likewise observed falling down its south side. The island is highest at its S.W. end, and is situate N.E. and S.W., and is about four miles in length, having two small islands off its N.E. end, and two smaller ones off its S.W. end.

By the chronometers, which were going very well, we made the long. of Cocos to be 87° 7′ W., which agrees nearly with the general chart issued by the Admiralty, but differing from Norie's chart thirtyseven miles, it being laid down therein 86° 30′ W., and Raper's Navigation 87° 00'.

Having passed close to Cocos, shaped a course for Cape Blanco, Gulf of Nicoya, which was made on the 29th, bearing N.E.b.N., about thirty miles, the current having set the ship twenty miles daily to the northward and eastward. There being a good moon we stood in for the land, and on the 30th, found the current had changed and set the ship to the northward and westward; and having at the same time light winds, we were delayed rounding the Cape till the morning of the 31st, and, sailing up the Gulf, anchored off Puntas Arenas, at midnight, in 5 fathoms, about four miles from the beach.

From Cocos till making the land about Cape Blanco, the wind continued about W.S.W., when it became variable and from the eastward.

Cape Blanco, when made from the westward, is moderately high, sloping down to the sea, and well covered with wood; the land to the northward and the westward being well covered and wooded down to the beach, and having a range of hills behind. About half a mile to the southward of Cape Blanco is a small white rocky island, the sea breaking nearly across from it to the Cape. In making the Cape from the eastward this rock has the appearance of a white cliff, or patch attached to the Cape.

On the east side, Cape Blanco is high, with several small white patches, and is not so thickly wooded as on the west side.