The joy which this appointment gave to the friends of FALCONER may easily be imagined; but this, alas! was of short duration: the AURORA sailed from ENGLAND on the 30th of September, 1769; and after touching at the Cape, was lost during the remainder of the passage. The following Letter from Mr. HIRST, Chaplain to the Commission, is the sole account that exists of their proceedings at the Cape:

CAPE TOWN, December 19, 1769.

"I write this from the Dutch Town at the Cape of GOOD HOPE. My last gave you an account of our arrival at, and departure from MADEIRA; and this acquaints you that we arrived here the sixth instant, from whence, it is imagined, we shall † sail the day after to-morrow. I have made many little excursions during my residence here, but not far enough into the country to give you much account of it; and there is little worth conveying to you from hence, unless I

* Printed in the third volume of Mr. DUNCOMBE'S Collection of Letters by Mr. HUGHES, and other eminent persons deceased, (p. 137.) For further particulars, see vol. ii. p. 254, and vol. iii. p. 132.

+ They left the Cape on the 27th of December.

could have sent some authentic anecdotes of the Aborigines of the Country, I mean the HOTTENTOTS; and they are all shrunk into the inland parts, at least two or three hundred miles from the Cape. We have seen but three of them (all men) since our arrival here; nor do I recollect that I saw more when I was here before.

"As we are in south latitude, the weather is at this time exceeding sultry, so that we are obliged to keep under cover great part of the day, the thermometer being now at 83 degrees; a heat much beyond what you generally have in ENGLAND in summer.

"Yesterday, and the day before, I made one of a party with Mr. VANSITTART to BAY FALSO, about twenty English miles from the Cape. We rode partly on horseback, and partly in a coach, having two of the Governor's coaches and six to attend us. Indeed I cannot say too much of the very hospitable reception we meet with here, owing to the great respect which the Dutch Governor and his Council shew to Mr. VANSITTART. You may be sure this circumstance gives me no small pleasure; as it is a proof of the great name and character he has in INDIA, that even strangers are not unacquainted with it. It has been

reported that CAPE † FALSO is a much better situation for a Colony than the place which the Dutch have chosen here; but this is not fact, as the hills, or rather mountains, descend almost to the sea-side, and are so steep and craggy as not to admit of cultivation. The Company have lately built some store-houses there for the service of the shipping in the winter time; when the winds blow so hard in TABLE BAY, that they cannot with safety ride here. It is with some satisfaction I recognise the view of the Tableland and its environs; and am pleased to find the

resemblance of my view of it in 1765, much more $ strong than I thought. If I had more time and less indolence, I might have perhaps made it less unworthy the acceptance of my friends. The Comet which we saw in ENGLAND approaching to the sun, we saw returning from it: I took two observations of its situation in the heavens, with respect to the neighbouring fixed stars;

+ The Portuguese once took this Cape for the Cape DAS AIGULLHAS, which lies over against it; and having found their mistake, they called this " CABO FALSO," or the False Cape.

This View of the Cape was taken in 1765, when Mr. HIRST returned from INDIA with Mr. VANSITTART; and was afterwards engraved by CANOT in 1766.

and wrote on the occasion a sheet-full, which I intended to have sent to my friend MASKELYNE at GREENWICH but this, as well as many other papers, I have "either lost or mislaid at sea; and it often happens, as the Earl of DORSET says, that

"Our paper, pens, and ink, and we,

Are tumbled up and down at Sea."

We continue to be very harmonious, and consequently very happy, on board the AURORA. I know this will give great pleasure to all Mr. VAN's real friends, and be the occasion of great chagrin and disappointment to all who expected the commission would be overset by the dissention of the Commissioners. God bless you, my dear friend!

"Your's ever,

"W. HIRST."

The writer of the above letter, Mr. HIRST, was Fellow of the Royal Society; and had been Chaplain on board several of his Majesty's Ships, particularly the HAMPTON COURT, when dispatched to LISBON after the earthquake in 1755. In 1759 he was Chaplain to the LENOX, and Secretary to Rear Admiral CORNISH.—

He made an accurate observation of the transit of Venus over the sun on June 6, 1761, at the Government House at MADRAS; and at the second transit of Venus, June 3, 1769, Mr. HIRST was one of the assist- * ants to the Astronomer Royal at GREENWICH.

Various are the reports that have arisen respecting the loss of the AURORA, which was twice on fire before she left the River. Mr. DUNCOMBE observes in a note: * "It seems now to be the general idea, that this unfortunate Ship was burnt. It is affirmed that the Supervisors, among other indulgences, had hot suppers; and every Seaman knows, and has experienced, the dangers and accidents to which Ships are exposed by fire as well as water, even with the utmost care and attention."

Such has in general been the prevailing idea respecting the AURORA: but Mr. DUNCOMBE was not aware of the increased attention that would be paid by Captain LEE, and his Officers, to the risk of losing their Ship by the luxury mentioned. Besides, such precautions are taken in the † Galley, or kitchen

*Vol. iii. p. 136.

+ Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xli. p. 237.

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