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CHAP. XXVI. 



What had Cook's Predecessors left h™ to discover ? — His first Voyage. — Discovery 

 of the Society Islands, and of the East Coast of New Holland. — TTia second 

 Voyage. — Discovery of the Hervey Group. — Researches in the South Sea. — The 

 New Hebrides. — Discovery of New Caledonia and of South Georgia. — His 

 third Voyage. — The Sandwich Islands. — New Albion. — West Georgia.— 

 Cook's Murder. — Vancouver. — Jja Peyrouse. 



To form a correct estimate of Cook's discoveries, it is necessary 

 that, before following the track of that great seaman, we should 

 glance over the vast regions of the Pacific previously unknown 

 to man. Many navigators indeed, since Magellan, had traversed 

 that immense ocean, but the greater part of its expanse still lay 

 buried in obscurity. 



To the north of the line, the Spaniards, sailing from Manilla 

 to Acapulco, still servilely followed the route which Urdanetahad 

 pointed out, and all beyond was unexplored. 



The regions to the south of the line were better known, but 

 here also maritime discoverers, with the sole exception of 

 Tasman, had confined themselves to the tropical waters. No 

 one had yet tried to sail through the boundless space which to 

 the south of the 25th degree of latitude extended between New 

 Zealand and America. Of Australia only the western coast was 

 known ; the existence of Torres' Strait had long since been for- 

 gotten, and New Guinea and New Holland were supposed to form 

 one connected land. To the south no one knew whether Aus- 

 tralia and Van Diem en's Land were joined together, or severed 

 by a channel; and the eastern coast of the fifth part of the world 

 .still awaited a discoverer. The boundaries of New Zealand were 

 buried in the same obscurity. Tasman had only visited the west 

 •coast of the northern island, which, as far as was then known, 

 might have extended a thousand miles farther on towards Chili. 

 In one word, the great geographical problem of an enormous 

 •southern continent, the existence of which was formerly supposed 

 necessary to form the counterpoise of the northern lands, still 



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