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THE SUCCESSORS OF COOK 481 



South. He first reconnoitred and roughly defined the out- 

 line of the Antarctic Continent, destined, in spite of Cook's 

 discouraging remarks, to be besieged and stormed by 

 heroes " dear to God and famous to all ages." He first 

 called:New Zealand into existence, with strong recommenda- 

 tion of its merits to those who thought of settlement. 

 He first surveyed the Eastern coast of Australia, and 

 he first believed that Australia would grow grain if '' culti- 

 vated by the hands of industry." Cook himself placed 

 no very high value on these three lands ; he thought, 

 apparently, that the Sandwich Islands were worth all 

 three of them put together. Still, as we mark these things, 

 we understand that our story has not lost interest, though 

 the nature of the interest has changed. One does not 

 like to compare Cook to a star, for he would have bitterly 

 resented the comparison. But, if one were permitted 

 to do so, one would be tempted to say that Cook was 

 evening star of the old story, and morning star of a new 

 story, not less heroic and far more fruitful. 



For the present, we follow this new story only in one Problems in 

 direction. The siege of the South Pole, its most heroic 

 chapter, cannot now be told. The map of the Pacific 

 Islands had been drawn by Cook with so much accuracy 

 that little remained to be added, or to be corrected, save 

 in the way of detail. New Zealand's geographic business 

 had also been settled by Cook with thoroughness. But 

 in Australia much remained to be learned. Even here 

 Cook had " reaped the harvest of discovery," but, as 

 Cook's greatest successor said, " the gleanings of the field 

 remained to be gathered," 1 and they were gleanings of 

 very considerable value. In the introduction to the 

 volumes in which Flinders told the story of his voyages, 

 he showed in careful way the problems which Cook had 

 bequeathed to his successors, and it is well that we should 

 observe what those problems were. 2 



Cook had surveyed the Eastern coast from Point Hicks The East 

 to Cape York, and he had accomplished this task with coast - 



1 Flinders, p. Ixxxiii. 



2 See map, p. 514, and the map at the end of the volume. 

 W.A. 2 H 



