THEPAGIFICOCEAN. 83 



■mm. The Englifh have fince proved that no fuch continent ^^776- 



I-L11 1 • n- • December. 



exilis ; and that the land in queltion is an lUand of no great ' -— — ' 



extent * ; which, from its fterility, I fliould, with great pro- 

 priety, call the Ifland of Defolation, but that I would not 

 rob Monfieur de Kerguelen of the honour of its bearing his 

 name f. 



honour to his candour, and to Captain Cook's abilities. " La terre que j'ai decou- 

 " verte eft certainement une IJle ; puifque le celebre Capitaine Cook a pafle au Sud, 

 " lors de fon premiere voyage, fans rien rencontrer. Je jugememe, que cetteifle«V/? 

 " pas bien grande. 11 y a auiTi apparence, d'apres le Voyage de Monfieur Cook, 

 " que toute cette etendue de Mers IVIeridionales, eft femee d'Ifles ou dc rochers ; 

 " mais qu'il n'y a nl continent ni grande terre." Kerguelen, p. ga. 



* Kerguelen, as we fee in the laft Note, concurs with Captain Cook as to this. 

 However, he tells us, that he has reafon to believe that it is about two hundred leagues 

 in circuit; and that he was acquainted with about fourfcore leagues of its coaft. 

 " J'en connois environs quatre-vingt lieues des cotes ; & j'ai lieu de croire, qu'ellc 

 " a eaviroji deux cents lieues de circuit." Kerguelen, ibid. 



f Same of Monfieur de Kerguelen's own countrymen feem more defirous than we 

 are, to rob him of this honour. It is very remarkable that Monfieur de Pages never 

 once mentions the name of his commander. And, though he takes occafion to enu- 

 merate the feveral French explorers of the Southern Hemifpherc, from Gonnevillc 

 down to Crozet, he affects to preferve an entire filence about Kerguelen, whofe firft 

 voyage, in which the difcovery of this confiderable tra£l of land was made, is kept as 

 much out of fight, as if it never had taken place. Nay, not fatisficd with refufint^ to 

 acknowledge the right of another, he almoft aflumes it to himfelf. For upon a Map 

 of the World, annexed to his book, at the fpot where the new land is delineated, wc 

 read this infcription : IJles nonvelles Aujlrales vuees par Monfieur de Pages, en 1774. 

 He could fcarcely have expreffed himfelf in ftronger terms, if he had meant to convey 

 an idea that he was the conduJlor of the difcovery. And yet we know, that he was 

 only a Lieutenant [Enfeigne de vaifleau] on board one of the three fhips commanded 

 by Kerguelen ; and that the difcovery had been already made in a former voya'fe, un- 

 dertaken while he was aiRually engaged in his fingular journey round the world. 



After all, it cannot but be remarked, that Kerguelen was peculiarly unfortunate, in 

 having done fo little to complete what he had begun. He difcovered a nev^ land indeed ; 

 but, in two expeditions to it, he could not once bring his fhips to an anchor upon 

 any part of itscoafts. Captain Cook, as we h:-,ve feen in this, and in tlie/oregoing 

 Chapter, had either fewer diificulties to ftruggle with, or was more fuccefsful in fur- 

 mountina them. 



'to 



M 2 Mr. 



