The truth is, the French seem, for some reason or other, not surely founded on the importance of Kerguelen's discovery, to have been very shy of publishing a full and distinct account of it. No such account had been published while Captain Cook lived. Nay, even after the return of his ships in 1780, the gentleman who obligingly lent his assistance to give a view of the prior observations of the French, and to connect them on the same chart with those of our author, though his assiduity in procuring geographical information can be equalled only by his readiness in communicating it, had not, it should seem, been able to procure any materials for that purpose, but such as mark the operations of the first French voyage; and even for these, he was indebted to a MS. drawing. But this veil of unnecessary secrecy is at length drawn aside. Kerguelen himself has published the journal of his proceedings in two successive voyages, in the years 1772 and 1773; and has annexed to his narrative a chart of the coasts of this land, as far as he had explored them in both voyages. Monsieur de Pagès, also, much about the same time, favoured us with another account of the second voyage, in some respects fuller than Kerguelen's own, on board whose ship he was then an officer. From these sources of authentic information, we are enabled to draw every necessary material to correct what is erroneous, and to illustrate what, otherwise, would have remained obscure, in this part of Captain Cook's journal. We shall take occasion to do this in separate notes on the passages as they occur, and conclude this tedious, but, it is hoped, not unnecessary, detail of facts, with one general remark, fully expressive of the disadvantages our author laboured under. He never saw that part of the coast upon which the French had been in 1772; and he never knew that they had been upon another part of it in 1773, which was the very scene of his own operations. Consequently, what he knew of the former voyage, as delineated upon Crozet's chart, only served to perplex and mislead his judgment; and his total ignorance of the latter, put it out of his power to compare his own observations with those then made by Kerguelen; though we, who are better instructed, can do this, by tracing the plainest marks of coincidence and agreement.--D.] My instructions directing me to examine it, with a view to discover a good harbour, I proceeded in the search; and on the 16th, being then in the latitude of 48° 45', and in the longitude of 52° E., we saw penguins and divers, and rock-weed floating in the sea. We continued to meet with more or less of these every day, as we proceeded to the eastward; and on the 21st, in the latitude of 48° 27' S., and in the longitude of 65° E., a very large seal was seen. We had now much foggy weather, and as we expected to fall in with the land every hour, our navigation became both tedious and dangerous.