under this parallel, knowing that no land could be there.
But an opportunity now offering of clearing up fome doubts
of our having feen land farther to the South, I fleered S. E. to
get into the ficuation in which it was fuppofed to lie.
Thurfday 23. We continued this courfe till four o’clock the next morning,
and then S. E. by E. and E. S. E., till eight in the evening,
at which time we were in the latitude o f 550 25' S., longitude
230 32' Eafl, both deduced from obfervations made the fame
day; for, in the morning, the ik y was clear at intervals, and
afforded an opportunity to obferve feveral diflances o f the fun
and moon, which we had not been able to do for fome time
paft, having had a conftant fucceffion of bad weather.
Having now run over the place where the land was fuppofed
to lie, without feeing the lead figns of any, it was no
longer to be doubted but that the ice-iflands had deceived us
as well as Mr. Bouvet. The wind by this time having veered
to the North, and increafed to a perfect dorm, attended as
ufual with fnowand fleet, we handed the top-fails and hauled
up E. N. E. under the courfes. During the night the wind
abated, and veered to N. W., which enabled us to fleer more
to the North, having no bufinefs farther South.
C H A P.
C H A P . VII.
Heads of what has been done in . the Voyage ; with fome
Conjectures concerning the Formation of Ice-iflands-, and
an Account of our Proceedings till our Arrival at the
Cape of Good Hope-
I HAD now made the circuit of the Southern. Ocean in a
high latitude, and traverfed it in fuch a manner as to
leave not the leaf! room for the poffibility of there being a
continent, unlefs near the pole, and out of the reach of navigation.
By twice vifiting the tropical fea, I had not only
fettled the fituation of fome old difcoveries, but made there
many new ones, and left, I conceive, very little more to be-
done even in that part. Thus I flatter myfelf, that the in-
tendon of the voyage has, in every refpecl, been fully am
fwered; the fouthern hemifphere fufficiently explored ; and
a final end put to the fearching after a fouthern continent,
which has, at times, ingrofled the attention of fome of the
maritime powers, for near two centuries paft, and been a
favourite theory amongft the geographers of all-ages.
Tha£ there may be a continent-, or large trail of land, near
the pole, I will not deny; on the contrary, I am of opinion
there is ; and it is probable that we have feen a part of it.
The exceffive cold, the many iflands and vaft floats of ice, all
tend to prove that there muft be land to the South; and for
my perfuafion that this fouthern- land muft lie, or extend^
_ faftheft