TRIBUTES PAID TO COOK'S MEMORY 257 



her family. Of the three sons who remained, 

 two died at sea and the third of illness. 



The whole world shared England's sorrow. 

 Captain Cook had earned unanimous respect 

 and regrets. The Abbe Delille in an address 

 celebrated at the time, wrote at the end of his 

 Poeme des Jar dins: — 



Brave Cook, qui, cher a tous les coeurs, 

 Unis par les regrets la France et I'Angleterre . . » 

 Helas ! de quoi lui sert que deux fois son audace 

 Ait vu des cieux brulants, fendu des mers de glace; 

 Que des peuples, des vents, des ondes revere, 

 Seul, sur les vastes mers, son vaisseau fut sacre ; 

 Que pour lui seul la guerre oubliat ses ravages? 

 L'ami du monde, helas! meurt en proie aux sauvages. 



The allusion of Delille to war was due to the 

 fact that since Cook's departure for this third 

 voyage the English colonies in America had 

 risen against their motherland in the successful 

 attempt to gain their independence. On Febru- 

 ary 6th, 1778, Vergennes, the minister of Louis 

 XVI, ratified with Benjamin Franklin a treaty 

 of alliance with the American insurgents, and in 

 June 1779 Spain joined France in her struggle 

 with England. 



France had so great an admiration for the 

 magnificent exploits of the English navigator, 

 and such respect for his character and genius, 

 that she had no desire that a man whom human- 



