PLANS OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 353 



not find civilized nations from whom we ourselves may 

 learn an infinity of things. Even America seemed bar- 

 barous enough till Mexico and Peru were discovered. 



For convenience of discussion, let us divide this huge The three 

 Southern third of the world into three parts, corresponding seas- 

 to the three seas. The South Atlantic may be called 

 " Magellanica," the South Pacific " Polynesia," and the 

 South Indian Ocean " Australasia " a word now first 

 coined. 



In " Magellanica," Bouvet's discovery should be followed, (i) "Magel- 

 Ice no doubt is a difficulty, but ice means land ; the more lamca - 

 land the more ice, and the more ice the more land. The 

 best physicists hold that the open sea does not freeze 

 even near the poles. Ice-fields prove great rivers, and 

 great rivers prove a great continent. Bouvet should Bouvet's 

 have gone on. Away from the great rivers the coast dlscover y- 

 would have been accessible, and even the great rivers 

 would be open in summer. Probably the soil in this 

 Latitude is barren ; yet there may be the same opportunities 

 of trade as in Hudson's Bay. And, apart from trade, 

 the discovery cannot fail to be of scientific interest. It 

 will furnish to the observer phenomena that will throw 

 light on the configuration of the earth, on astronomy, on 

 navigation, on gravity, on the oscillations of the pendulum, 

 on magnetism. Here is the chance for an enthusiasm 

 of curiosity. More than two centuries have passed since 

 the world was first circumnavigated by sailing from 

 West to East. One day some one will undertake to make 

 the circuit by sailing from North to South, and will succeed 

 in spite of cold and winds ! 



In " Magellanica " also are the islands visited by Rogge- The 



TT llrl 1 



veen and others (the Falkland Islands), concerning which a ^ d s 

 " the English do not conceal their opinion that, if one Patagonia, 

 could find there a place of refreshment, one would draw 

 from it an inconceivable advantage, and that the master 

 of a place so advanced towards the South would, in time 

 of war, be master of the two seas." Moreover, in this 

 region are Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, with products 

 of value, such as skins, wools, dyes, and whales. A settle- 



W.A. Z 



