the work, it is hoped, will afford evidence that in no instance where they were accessible have the original authorities been neglected.
For some valuable information embodied in the account of Cook's Voyages, which occupies so considerable a portion of these pages, the Publishers have been indebted to the relatives of his family. By the kindness of the late Mr Isaac Cragg-Smith, they were furnished with the original manuscript of the great voyager's Observations of the Transit of Venus, and a fac-simile of this interesting relic accompanies the book. It may also be stated, that the Portrait (engraved by Horsburgh after Dance) which is prefixed to the work was pronounced by Mrs Cook-now no more-to be the most accurate of all the likenesses of her illustrious husband.
The scenery of the different countries visited by that eminent seaman, the appearance of the natives, as well as their dress and arms, are successfully illustrated by numerous beautiful engravings from the able hand of Mr Jackson.
The present volume comprises the History of Circumnavigation from Magellan to Cook,-a period of more than two centuries and a half,—and details the proceedings of those navigators who effected discoveries in the Pacific during the same time. It will be followed by a second, bringing down the narrative to the present day; exhibiting a copious view of the recent French, Russian, and German voyages, hitherto but little known in this country; and con