46 THE ANTARCTIC. 



pletely polar character of these apparently desolate ice-clad 

 islands, destitute of all vegetation, as he was the first to re- 

 late the dangers of the great southern polar ocean, covered 

 with ice and innumerable icebergs, obstacles which 

 rendered the land unapproachable — " countries (we quote 

 Cook's own words) condemned to everlasting rigidity by 

 Nature, never to yield to the warmth of the sun, for 

 whose wild and desolate aspect I find no words : such 

 are the countries we have discovered : what then may 

 those resemble which lie still further to the south? It 

 is reasonable to suppose that we have seen the best, 

 being the most northerly. Should any one possess the 

 resolution and the fortitude to elucidate this point by 

 pushing yet further south than I have done, I shall not 

 envy him the fame of his discovery, but I make bold 

 to declare that the world will derive no benefit from it." 



FROM COOK TO BALLENY. 



It seemed for a long time as if the course of events 

 justified the doubt of the great British navigator as to 

 whether the Antarctic regions, which he had opened up, 

 would ever be sought out anew. The years which 

 followed upon Cook's last voyage saw no new scientific 

 exploration of the southern polar seas. Though it would 

 be a serious mistake to suppose that the spirit of inquiry 

 had relinquished the quest, more urgent claims had come 

 into notice, the survey of the newly-found coasts of 

 Australia and North America, as well as the innumerable 

 islands scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the 

 lack of interest in the Antarctic regions was doubtless a 

 result of the political situation in Europe. The conflicts 

 of Republican and Napoleonic France and her allies, 

 which wholly absorbed the resources of England and 

 of France, completely paralysed all inclination for costly 

 maritime exploration. For a long time the waters of 



