In the morning of the 5th, the day of the eclipse, the weather was dark and cloudy, with showers of rain; so that we had little hopes of an observation. About nine o’clock the sun broke out at intervals for about half an hour; after which it was totally obscured till within a minute or two of the beginning of the eclipse. We were all at our telescopes, viz. Mr. Bayly, Mr. King, Captain Clerke, Mr. Bligh, and myself. I lost the observation by not having a dark glass at hand, suitable to the clouds that were continually passing over the sun; and Mr. Bligh had not got the sun into the field of his telescope; so that the commencement of the eclipse was only observed by the other three gentlemen, and by them with an uncertainty of several seconds, as follows: H. M. S. By Mr. Bayly, at 11 46 23-1/2} Mr. King, at 11 46 28 } Apparent time. Capt. Clerke, at 11 47 5 } Mr. Bayly and Mr. King observed with the achromatic telescopes, belonging to the board of longitude, of equal magnifying powers; and Captain Clerke observed with one of the reflectors. The sun appeared at intervals, till about the middle of the eclipse; after which it was seen no more during the day; so that the end could not be observed. The disappointment was of little consequence, since the longitude was more than sufficiently determined, independently of this eclipse, by lunar observations, which will be mentioned hereafter. As soon as we knew the eclipse to be over, we packed up the instruments, took down the observatories, and sent every thing on board that had not been already removed. As none of the natives had taken the least notice or care of the three sheep allotted to Mareewagee, I ordered them to be carried back to the ships. I was apprehensive, that, if I had left them here, they run great risk of being destroyed by dogs. That animal did not exist upon this island, when I first visited it in 1773; but I now found they had got a good many, partly from the breed then left by myself, and partly from some, imported since that time, from an island not very remote, called Feejee. The dogs, however, at present, had not found their way into any of the Friendly Islands, except Tongataboo; and none but the chiefs there had as yet got possession of any. Being now upon the eve of our departure from this Island, I shall add some particulars about it, and its productions, for which I am indebted to Mr. Anderson. And, having spent as many weeks there, as I had done days[190] when I visited it in 1773, the better opportunities that now occurred, of gaining more accurate information, and the skill of that gentleman, in directing his inquiries, will, in some measure, supply the imperfection of my former account of this island.