THE VICTORIAN ERA 187 
who has already planted the red cross of England on one 
of the northern Magnetic Poles, as the man best fitted to 
be the leader of an expedition, sent out for such a 
purpose/' 
This was the first suggestion in print of what must 
have been an understood matter amongst the promoters 
of the expedition, that James Clark Ross was the natural 
and indeed the inevitable commander. The fervour of 
the appeal to patriotism may be judged by two quota- 
tions from A. Z.'s letter: 
“ Oh ! let it not be said that more than half a century 
elapsed since our immortal countryman Cook sacrificed 
his life in the cause of discovery, and that no step was 
taken to follow up the glorious track in which he led 
the way, — that all within the Polar circle still remains 
a blank on our charts ; — nay, infinitely more to our 
disgrace, that we, who date a thousand years of naval 
supremacy, allowed a nation but of yesterday, albeit gi- 
gantic in her infancy, to snatch from us our birth-right 
on the ocean, and to pluck the laurels that have been 
planted and watered by the toils of our seamen.” 
“ I . . . conclude with the earnest hope that through 
your exertions my wishes may be realised, and that ere 
long the Southern Cross may shine over an expedition 
sailing to the Polar Seas — that Cross sung by Dante and 
Camoens of old, which has served as a banner in a far 
more sacred cause — that cross which by its position 
points out the hour of night to the Indian wandering o'er 
the pathless desert of Atacama, or the mariners plough- 
ing the trackless ocean — that Cross which brightly 
shone o'er Diaz and Columbus and Vasco da Gama — 
and that Cross which I ardently hope will once again 
shine o'er the 4 Meteor Flag of England,' proudly wav- 
