Although well aware of the productiveness of this fine island in marine objects, I was yet unprepared for the sight of upwards of one hundred species of fish, which I frequently witnessed of a morning in the market at Port Louis; but this to me was diminished by the regret that the most skilful taxidermist would signally fail, either to retain upon the prepared skin, or to reproduce, the bright colours for which so many of them are remarkable.  Dredging in the harbour was perfectly unsuccessful; outside the margin of the coral reefs which fringe the entrance to Port Louis one finds a zone of loose blocks of living Maeandrinae, Astraeae, and other massive corals, where dredging is impracticable; to this succeeds a belt of dead shells and small fragments of coral; and the remainder of the channel is tenacious mud, in which I found nothing of interest.

Leave Mauritius.

After a pleasant stay of twelve days, we left Mauritius, on May 17th, as soon as the last set of sights for rating the chronometers had been obtained, and in due time rounded the north end of the island to a light wind off the land.  In the first watch a distant light was conjectured, with some degree of probability, to proceed from the well-known active volcano of the Island of Bourbon.

During our stay at Port Louis, Captain Stanley had complied with a requisition from the Commissariat to take some specie to Hobart Town, consequently his previous intention of proceeding to Sydney, by way of King George Sound, was abandoned.

On May 24th (our noon position being in latitude 28 degrees 1 minute South, and longitude 67 degrees 30 minutes East) we tacked to the South-West, having found the impracticability of making a straight course for Cape Leeuwin without first getting well to the southward, and in due time we reached the latitudes where westerly winds prevail, and were enabled to proceed onward on our course.

Try for deep-sea soundings.

On June 14th, when in latitude 40 degrees 45 minutes South, and longitude 123 degrees 23 minutes East, the occurrence of a calm during the forenoon, although accompanied by a considerable swell, induced Captain Stanley to make a third attempt to obtain deep-sea soundings.  He had been much interested in the success of experiments of this kind, in which the grand desideratum has always been to produce positive proof of having reached bottom by bringing up a portion of its substance, hitherto unattempted on account of the great length of time required for the experiment, and the disproportionate strength of the line to the enormous weight employed, should any sudden jerk ensue from the heave of the sea.  Captain Stanley had at length succeeded in contriving a very ingenious apparatus by which, upon striking soundings, the eight 32 pounds shot employed would be immediately detached, leaving no