21 



sort of instinct we endeavour to connect our- 

 selves with objects, on which the mind has long 

 been fixed as by a secret charm. At a period 

 when I studied the heavens, not with the inten- 

 tion of devoting myself to astronomy, but only 

 to acquire a knowledge of the stars, I was agi- 

 tated by a fear unknown to those who love a 

 sedentary life. It seemed painful to me to re- 

 nounce the hope of beholding those beautiful 

 constellations, which border the southern pole. 

 Impatient to rove in the equinoctial regions, I 

 could not raise my eyes toward the starry vault 

 without thinking of the Cross of the South, and 

 without recalling the sublime passage of Dante, 

 which the most celebrated commentators have 

 applied to this constellation ; 



Io mi volsi a man destra e posi mente 

 All' altro polo e vidi quattro stelle 

 Non viste mai fuor ch* alia prima gente. 



Goder parca lo ciel di lor fiammelle ; 



O setteri trional vedovo sito 



Poi che privato se' di mirar quelle ! 



The pleasure we felt on discovering the south- 

 ern Cross was warmly shared by such of the 

 crew as had lived in the colonies. In the soli- 

 tude of the seas, we hail a star as a friend, from 

 whom we have long been separated. Among 

 the Portugueze and the Spaniards peculiar mo- 

 tives seem to increase this feeling ; a religious 



