We Are The First Europeans, And,
I Believe, I May Add, The First Human Beings Who Have Reached This
Point, Where It Is Probable None Will Come After Us.
A common report
prevails, indeed, in England, concerning Sir Francis Drake, who is
said to have visited the antipodes,
Which the legend expresses by "his
having passed under the middle arch of London bridge:" but this is a
mistake, as his track lay along the coast of America, and probably
originates from his having passed the periaeci, or the point in 180 deg.
longitude on the same circle of north latitude, on the coast of
California." - G.F.
To the vanity of Englishmen, not always accompanied, it is to be
feared, by political honesty, the expedition of Drake afforded the
highest gratification. Swarms of wits, accordingly, who are never
wanting in any reign, either to eulogize what the government has
sanctioned, or to infuse something of literary immortality into
popular enthusiasm, were in requisition on this extraordinary
occasion, and, as usual, vied with each other in bombast and the
fervour of exaggeration. If one might credit the legends, Sir Francis
accomplished much more than a visit to the antipodes, much more
indeed, than ever man did before or since. Witness an epigram on him
preserved in the Censura Literaria. vol. iii, p. 217: -
Sir Drake, whom well the world's end knew,
Which thou didst compasse round,
And whom both poles of heaven once saw
Which north and south do bound:
The stars above would make thee known,
If men were silent here;
The Sun himselfe cannot forget
His fellow-traveller.
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