All these considerations induced me to lay aside looking for the French discoveries, and to steer for the Cape of Good Hope; with a resolution, however, of looking for the isles of Denia and Marseveen, which are laid down in Dr Halley's variation chart in the latitude of 41° 1/2 S., and about 4° of longitude to the east of the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope. With this view I steered N.E., with a hard gale at N.W. and thick weather; and on the 25th, at noon, we saw the last ice island, being at this time in the latitude of 52° 52' S., longitude 26° 31' E. The wind abating and veering to the south, on the first of March, we steered west, in order to get farther from Mr Bouvet's track, which was but a few degrees to the east of us, being at this time in the latitude of 46° 44' S., longitude 33° 20' E., in which situation we found the variation to be 23° 36' W. It is somewhat remarkable, that all the time we had northerly winds, which were regular and constant for several days, the weather was always thick and cloudy; but, as soon as they came south of west, it cleared up, and was fine and pleasant. The barometer began to rise several days before this change happened; but whether on account of it, or our coming northward, cannot be determined.[14] [Footnote 14: It may be worth while preserving here the remark made by Mr Wales. When off, and in the neighbourhood of Georgia, the cold was much less severe when the wind blew from the south, than when it came from the north. He assigns no reason for it, and perhaps the observations were too limited to place and time to justify any general inferences. It may, however, be suggested, with little risk of error, that the northerly wind would be most loaded with moisture, hence the cloudy sort of weather noticed during its continuance; and that, on very well-ascertained principles, moisture is a considerable source of cold.--E.] The wind remained not long at south before it veered round by the N.E. to the N.W., blowing fresh and by squalls, attended, as before, with rain and thick misty weather. We had some intervals of clear weather in the afternoon of the 3d, when we found the variation to be 22° 26' W.; latitude at this time 45° 8' S., longitude 30° 50' E. The following night was very stormy, the wind blew from S.W. and in excessively heavy squalls. At short intervals between the squalls the wind would fall almost to a calm, and then come on again with such fury, that neither our sails nor rigging could withstand it, several of the sails being split, and a middle stay-sail being wholly lost. The next morning the gale abated, and we repaired the damage we had sustained in the best manner we could.