26o CAPTAIN COOK 



promptings of your own generosity, but that you 

 will obtain the approbation of Congress and of 

 all American ship-owners." 



The noble attitude of the Illustrious American 

 philosopher was not approved by the members 

 of Congress, who revoked Franklin's orders. 

 Spain equally refused to follow the fine example 

 of France. In spite of everything, the Resolu- 

 tion and Discovery were not to incur any hostil- 

 ity during their return journey. 



After the tragic death of Captain Cook, 

 Lieutenant King wrote in the log certain admi- 

 rable pages In which he recalled. In a striking 

 manner, the man who had been his leader and 

 his friend. Of all the tributes offered to the 

 memory of the great sailor, this remains the most 

 beautiful, the most sincere, and the most true. 



''Cook seemed to have been born for distant 

 expeditions; his earliest habits of life, the ex- 

 perience acquired in his long voyages, the con- 

 stant application of his mind, all concurred in 

 giving him a degree of knowledge which per- 

 haps is the lot of only a small number of officers. 



"He was of robust constitution, hardened to 

 toil and capable of supporting the greatest 

 fatigues. His stomach digested without diffi- 



