coming to an anchor, unless the winds and currents shifted, the commodore repeated his assistance, sending to her the _Tryal's_ boat manned with the _Centurion's_ people, and a farther supply of water and other refreshments. Captain Mitchel, the captain of the _Gloucester_, was under a necessity of detaining both this boat and that sent the preceding day; for without the help of their crews he had no longer strength enough to navigate the ship. In this tantalizing situation the _Gloucester_ continued for near a fortnight, without being able to fetch the road, though frequently attempting it, and at some times bidding very fair for it. On the 9th of July, we observed her stretching away to the eastward at a considerable distance, which we supposed was with a design to get to the southward of the island; but as we soon lost sight of her, and she did not appear for near a week, we were prodigiously concerned, knowing that she must be again in extreme distress for want of water. After great impatience about her, we discovered her again on the 16th endeavouring to come round the eastern point of the island; but the wind, still blowing directly from the bay, prevented her getting nearer than within four leagues of the land. On this, Captain Mitchel made signals of distress, and our long-boat was sent to him with a store of water, and plenty of fish, and other refreshments. And the long-boat being not to be spared, the cockswain had positive orders from the {124} commodore to return again immediately; but the weather proving stormy the next day, and the boat not appearing, we much feared she was lost, which would have proved an irretrievable misfortune to us all: however, the third day after, we were relieved from this anxiety by the joyful sight of the long-boat's sails upon the water; on which we sent the cutter immediately to her assistance, who towed her alongside in a few hours, when we found that the crew of our long-boat had taken in six of the _Gloucester's_ sick men to bring them on shore, two of which had died in the boat. We now learnt that the _Gloucester_ was in a most dreadful condition, having scarcely a man in health on board, except those they received from us: and, numbers of their sick dying daily, it appeared that, had it not been for the last supply sent by our long-boat, both the healthy and diseased must have all perished together for want of water. These calamities were the more terrifying as they appeared to be without remedy: for the _Gloucester_ had already spent a month in her endeavours to fetch the bay, and she was now no farther advanced than at the first moment she made the island; on the contrary, the people on board her had worn out all their hopes of ever succeeding in it, by the many experiments they had made of its difficulty. Indeed, the same day her situation grew more desperate than ever, for after she had received our last supply of refreshments, we again lost sight of her; so that we