As we were now no more than two degrees of longitude front our route to the south, when we left the Cape of Good Hope, it was to no purpose to proceed any farther to the east under this parallel, knowing that no land could be there. But an opportunity now offering of clearing up some doubts of our having seen land farther to the south, I steered S.E. to get into the situation in which it was supposed to lie.
We continued this course till four o'clock the next morning, and then S.E. by E. and E.S.E., till eight in the evening, at which time we were in the latitude of 55° 25' S., longitude 23° 22' east, both deduced from observations made the same day; for, in the morning, the sky was clear at intervals, and afforded an opportunity to observe several distances of the sun and moon, which we had not been able to do for some time past, having had a constant succession of bad weather.
Having now run over the place where the land was supposed to lie, without seeing the least signs of any, it was no longer to be doubted but that the ice-islands had deceived us as well as Mr Bouvet. The wind by this time having veered to the north, and increased to a perfect storm, attended as usual with snow and sleet, we handed the top-sails and hauled up E.N.E. under the courses. During the night the wind abated, and veered to N.W., which enabled us to steer more to the north, having no business farther south.
_Heads of what has been done in the Voyage; with some Conjectures concerning the Formation of Ice-Islands; and an Account of our Proceedings till our Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope._
I had now made the circuit of the southern ocean in a high latitude, and traversed it in such a manner as to leave not the least room for the possibility of there being a continent, unless near the Pole, and out of the reach of navigation. By twice visiting the tropical sea, I had not only settled the situation of some old discoveries, but made there many new ones, and left, I conceive, very little more to be done even in that part. Thus I flatter myself, that the intention of the voyage has, in every respect, been fully answered; the southern hemisphere sufficiently explored, and a final end put to the searching after a southern continent, which has, at times, ingrossed the attention of some of the maritime powers, for near two centuries past, and been a favourite theory amongst the geographers of all ages.