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On the evening of the 25th, which had been duly observed as Christmas
Day, the _Nautilus_ arrived from the southward. She had been at
Preservation Island, where, and among the neighbouring islands, she had
been tolerably successful in seal-catching. The master left 14 of his
people on the island of Cape Barren, to provide as many skins and as much
oil as they could against his return. Those with which he now arrived
were in a few days sold by auction.
The two whalers, the _Indispensable_ and _Britannia_, which had
been fishing on the coast, returned on the 29th for a few days to repair
some defects and refresh their crews. They had cruised chiefly from the
latitude of 32 degrees 00 minutes to 35 degrees 00 minutes, and not
farther from the coast than from 20 to 30 leagues, and thought themselves
rather successful for the time (only two months), the one having got 54,
and the other 60 tons of spermaceti oil.
The _Eliza_ (more wisely) put into Botany Bay, to wood and water.


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