46 SIEGE OF THE SOUTH POLE 
manned by a carefully selected crew and placed under the 
command of Bouvet and Hay. The instructions of the 
company stated that the object of the expedition was the 
discovery of southern lands which were to be sought for 
in latitude 44 0 S., and if not found the ships were to 
proceed as far as 55 0 S., afterwards returning to 44 0 S. 
and pursuing a sinuous track as far as 8o° E. of Paris. 
While in sight of the southern land the ship’s companies 
were to receive an increase of 25 per cent in their pay ; 
but the captains were forbidden to bring any Australians 
(that is, inhabitants of the Terra Australis Incognita) 
to France. 
Bouvet sailed from Lorient on July 19th, 1738, and by 
December 15th he commenced to meet floating ice in 
latitude 48° 50' S., but no land was sighted where the 
maps showed the “ Terre de Vue ” five degrees farther 
north. Pushing on southward the expedition found the 
ice growing more abundant and the bergs larger, a 
good sign in Bouvet’s opinion, for it argued the prox- 
imity of an elevated and extensive land, and, as he 
observed in his log* “ high lands are well known to be 
the healthiest.” The weather was bad with much fog, 
but Bouvet was a good sailor and a determined man not 
likely to be baffled. At length on New Year’s Day, 1739, 
his perseverance was rewarded by the discovery of a high 
snow-clad land thickly veiled in fog, but showing on its 
steeply scarped coast a prominent headland which was 
named, after the Church festival of the day, Cape Cir- 
cumcision. It was impossible to make a landing and 
although the two vessels remained in sight of the cape for 
twelve days the fog never completely lifted and it could 
not be determined whether it was an island or part 
of a continent. The pilot of the Marie differed from his 
