The discovery of a supposed north-west passage from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific Oceans, had for many years been ardently sought for, both by the English and the Dutch. Frobisher, in 1576, made the first attempt, and his example was in succeeding times followed by many others. But though much geographical information had been gained in the neighborhood of Hudson’s Bay, Davis’ Strait, Baffin’s Bay, and the coast of Greenland, yet no channel whatever was found. By act of parliament, £20,000 was offered to the successful individual. Notwithstanding these numerous failures, Every preparation having been made, the Resolution quitted Plymouth on July 12, taking Omai, the native, from the Society Isles. Having touched at Teneriffe, they crossed the equator September 1, and reached the Cape on October 18, where the Discovery joined them on November 10. The ships sailed again on November 30, and encountered heavy gales, in which several sheep and goats died. On December 12 they saw two large islands, which Cook named Prince Edward’s Islands; and three days afterwards several others were seen; but having made Kerguelen’s Land, they anchored in a convenient harbor on Christmas day. On the north side of this harbor one of the men found a quart bottle fastened to a projecting rock by stout wire, and on opening it, the bottle was found to contain a piece of parchment, on which was an inscription purporting that the land had been visited by a French vessel in 1772-3. To On January 24, 1777, they came in sight of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), and on the 26th anchored in Adventure Bay, where intercourse was opened with the natives, and Omai took every opportunity of lauding the great superiority of his friends, the English. Here they obtained plenty of grass for the remaining cattle, and a supply of fresh provisions for themselves. On the 30th they quitted their port, convinced that Van Diemen’s Land was the southern point of New Holland. Subsequent investigations, however, have proved this idea to be erroneous, Van Diemen’s Land being an island On February 12, Captain Cook anchored at his old station in Queen Charlotte’s Sound, New Zealand; but the natives were very shy in approaching the ships, and none could be persuaded to come on board. The reason was, that on the former voyages, after parting with the Resolution, the Adventure had visited this place, and ten of her crew had been killed in an unpremeditated skirmish with the natives. It was the fear of retaliatory punishment that kept them aloof. Captain Cook, however, soon made them easy upon the subject, and their familiarity was renewed; but great caution was used, to be fully prepared for a similar attack, by keeping the men well-armed on all occasions. Of the animals left at this island in the former voyages, many were thriving; and the gardens, though left in a state of nature, were found to contain cabbages, onions, After landing at a number of islands, and not finding adequate supplies, the ships sailed for Anamocka, and the Resolution was brought up in exactly the same anchorage that she had occupied three years before. The natives behaved in a most friendly manner, and but for their habits of stealing, quiet would have been uninterrupted. Nothing, however, could check this propensity, till Captain Cook shaved the heads of all whom he caught practicing it. This rendered them an object of ridicule to their countrymen, and enabled the English to recognize and keep them at a distance. Most of the Friendly Isles were visited by the ships, and everywhere they met with a kind reception. On June 10 they reached Tongataboo, where the King offered Captain Cook his house to reside in. Here he made a distribution of animals amongst the chiefs, and the importance of preserving them was explained by Omai. Two kids and two turkey-cocks having been stolen, the captain seized three canoes, put a guard over the chiefs, and insisted that not only the kids and turkeys should be restored, but also everything that had been taken away since their arrival. This produced a good effect, and much of the plunder was returned. Captain Cook remained at the Friendly Islands nearly three months, and lived almost entirely during that period upon fresh provisions, occasionally eating the produce of the seeds he had sown there in his former visits. On July 17, they took their final leave of these hospitable people, and on August 12 reached Otaheite, and took up a berth in Oaiti-piha Bay, which, it was discovered, Animals of various kinds had been left in the country by the Spaniards, and the islanders spoke of them with esteem and respect. On the 24th the ships went round to Matavai Bay, and Captain Cook presented to the king, Otoo, the remainder of his live stock. They here witnessed a human sacrifice, to propitiate the favor of their gods in a battle they were about to undertake. The victim was generally some strolling vagabond, who was not aware of his fate till the moment arrived, and he received his death-blow from a club. For the purpose of showing the inhabitants the use of the horses, Captains Cook and Clerke rode into the country, to the great astonishment of the islanders; and though this exercise was continued every day by some of the Resolution’s people, yet the wonder of the natives never abated. On the return of Omai to the land of his birth, the reception he met with was not very cordial; but the affection of his relatives was strong and ardent. Captain Cook obtained the grant of a piece of land for him on the west side of Owharre harbor, Huaheine. The carpenters of the ships built him a small house, to which a garden was attached, planted with shaddocks, vines, pineapples, melons, etc., and a variety of vegetables, the whole of which were thriving before Captain Cook quitted the island. When the house was finished, the presents Omai had received in England were carried ashore, with every article necessary for domestic purposes, as well as two muskets, a bayonet, a brace of pistols, etc. The two lads brought from New Zealand were put on shore at this place, to form part of Omai’s family; but it was with great reluctance that they quitted the voyagers, who had behaved so kindly to them. Whilst lying at Huaheine, a thief, who had caused them great trouble, not only had his head and beard shaved, but, in order to deter others, both his ears were cut off. On November 3, the ships went to Ulietea, and here, decoyed by the natives, two or three desertions took place; and as others seemed inclined to follow the example, Captain Clerke pursued the fugitives with two-armed boats and a party of marines, but without effect. Captain Cook experienced a similar failure; he therefore seized upon the persons of the chief’s son, daughter, and son-in-law, whom he placed under confinement till the people should be restored, which took place on the 28th, and the hostages were released. One of the deserters was a midshipman of the Discovery, and the son of a brave officer in the service. Schemes were projected by some of the natives to assassinate Captain Cook and At Bolabola, Captain Cook succeeded in obtaining an anchor which had been left there by M. Bougainville, as he was very desirous of converting the iron into articles of traffic. They left this place on December 8, crossed the line, and on the 24th stopped at a small island, which he named Christmas Island, and where he planted cocoa-nuts, yams, and melon seeds, and left a bottle enclosing a suitable inscription. On January 2, 1778, the ships resumed their voyage northward, to pursue the grand object in Behring’s Strait. They passed several islands, the inhabitants of which, though at a great distance from Otaheite, spoke the same language. Those who came on board displayed the utmost astonishment at everything they beheld, and it was evident they had never seen a ship before. The disposition to steal was equally strong The voyage to the northward was continued on February 2, and the long-looked-for coast of New Albion was made on March 7; the ships, after sailing along it till the 29th, came to anchor in a small cove. A brisk trade commenced with the natives, who appeared to be well acquainted with the value of iron, for which they exchanged the skins of various animals, such as bears, wolves, foxes, deer, etc., both in their original state and made up into garments. But the most extraordinary articles were human skulls, They left this place June 6, but notwithstanding all their watchfulness and vigilance, Proceeding to the northward, Captain Cook ascertained the relative position of the two continents, Asia and America, whose extremities he observed. On the 18th they were close to a dense wall of ice, beyond which they could not penetrate. The ice here was from ten to twelve feet high, and seemed to rise higher in the distance. The narrative of what ensued is affectingly tragical. Cook left the Resolution about seven o’clock, attended by the lieutenant of marines, a sergeant, a corporal, and seven Whilst matters were in this position, one of the chiefs was seen with a dagger partly concealed under his cloak, lurking about Captain Cook, and the lieutenant of marines proposed to fire at him; but this the captain would not permit; but the chief closing upon them, the officer of marines struck him with The death of their commander was felt to be a heavy blow by the officers and seamen of the expedition. With deep sorrow the ships’ companies left Owyhee, where the catastrophe had occurred, the command of the Resolution devolving on Captain Clerke, and Mr. Gore acting as commander of the Discovery. After making some further exploratory searches among the Sandwich Islands, the vessels visited Kamtschatka and Behring’s Strait. Here it was found impossible to penetrate through the ice either on the coast of America or that of Asia, so that they returned to the southward; and on By this, as well as the preceding voyages of Cook, a considerable addition was made to a knowledge of the earth’s surface. Besides clearing up doubts respecting the Southern Ocean, and making known many islands in the Pacific, the navigator did an inestimable service to his country in visiting the coasts of New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land, New Zealand, and Norfolk Island—all now colonial possessions of The intelligence of Captain Cook’s death was received with melancholy regrets in England. The king granted a pension of £200 per annum to his widow, and £25 per annum to each of the children; the Royal Society had a gold medal struck in commemoration of him; and various other honors at home and abroad were paid to his memory. “Thus, by his own persevering efforts,” as has been well observed by the author of the ‘Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties,’ “did this great man raise himself from the lowest obscurity to a reputation wide as the world itself, and certain to last as long as the age in which he flourished shall be remembered by history. But better still than even all this fame—than either the Honor and fame are not to be achieved by seeking for them alone, nor are their possession the end and aim of human existence. It is only by an unwearied striving after a new and nobler nature; only by being useful to our fellows, and making the most of those qualities of mind which God has given us, that happiness is to be attained, or that we fulfill the ends of our being. EXCELLENT BOOKS. Six Months at Mrs. Prior’s. By Emily Adams. Illustrated. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. $1.25. “In this fresh little story, which is addressed especially to young girls, the author tries to impress the lesson that the disagreeable and annoying duties of life may be made pleasant by accepting them as inevitable, and asking help from above. Mrs. Prior is the widow of a clergyman, and has been left with five little ones to support. She discharges her servant, and divides the lighter duties of the household between herself and the two eldest of her children, Minnie and Helen. Unaccustomed to any thing but study and play, the girls find it very hard to have their old time appointments for enjoyment circumscribed, and complain bitterly at first. The book gives a history of their experience, and shows how the work that was so irksome at first became in the end a source of pleasure and means of healthful discipline. “Six Months at Mrs. Prior’s” is a sweet story of womanly tact combined with Christian trust. A widow, with scanty means, makes a home happy for a group of children, restless, wayward and aspiring, like many American children of our day. The mother’s love holds them, her thrift cares for them, her firmness restrains, and her christian words and life win them to noble aims and living. The influence of the christian household is widely felt, and the quiet transforming leaven works in many homes. We can’t have too many books of this kind in the family or Sunday-school.” Miss Pricilla Hunter, by Pansy, opens a new view for that charming writer, but one eminently popular at the present time. It deals with the payment of a church debt, and shows how an humble woman, with a Christian character which gave power to her words, raised the money to pay off a debt which had long been a hindrance to church growth and to Christian benevolence. Why she did it, and how she did it, is told in Pansy’s best fashion: her encounters with crabbed folks, and stingy folks, and folks determined not to give to the church debt, are highly amusing, as well as her devices to get something from everybody. RECENT BOOKS. Yensie Walton. By Mrs. S. R. Graham Clark. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. $1.50. Of the many good books which the Messrs. Lothrop have prepared for the shelves of Sunday-school libraries, “Yensie Walton” is one of the best. It is a sweet, pure story of girl life, quiet as the flow of a brook, and yet of sufficient interest to hold the attention of the most careless reader. Yensie is an orphan, who has found a home with an uncle, a farmer, some distance from the city. Her aunt, a coarse, vulgar woman, and a tyrant in the household, does her best to humiliate her by making her a domestic drudge, taking away her good clothing and exchanging it for coarse, ill-filling garments, and scolding her from morning till night. This treatment develops a spirit of resistance; the mild and affectionate little girl becomes passionate and disobedient, and the house is the scene of continual quarrels. Fortunately, her uncle insists upon her attending school, and in the teacher, Miss Gray, she finds her first real friend. In making her acquaintance a new life begins for her. She is brought in contact with new and better influences, and profiting by them becomes in time a sunbeam in her uncle’s house, and the means of softening the heart and quieting the tongue of the aunt who was once her terror and dread. Mrs. Clark has a very pleasing style, and is especially skilful in the construction of her stories. “Yensie Walton” is a story of great power, by a new author. It aims to show that God uses a stern discipline to form the noblest characters, and that the greatest trials of life often prove the greatest blessings. The story is subordinate to this moral aim, and the earnestness of the author breaks out into occasional preaching. But the story is full of striking incident and scenes of great pathos, with occasional gleams of humor and fun by way of relief to the more tragic parts of the narrative. The characters are strongly drawn, and, in general, are thoroughly human, not gifted with impossible perfections, but having those infirmities of the flesh which make us all akin. RECENT BOOKS. Johnny’s Vacations and Other Stories. By Mary E. N. Hathaway. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. $1.00. Few more entertaining stories for small boys have lately made their appearance than Johnny’s Vacations. The author seems to have had experience with boys and tells in a charmingly natural manner the story of a vacation spent on a farm by one of them, Johnny Stephens by name. In addition there are six shorter stories, in which the girls will be as deeply interested as the boys. Among them are “The Doll’s Party,” “Biddy and her Chickens,” “The Wild Goose,” and “Pansy’s Visit.” Royal Lowrie. A Boy’s Book. By Magnus Merriweather. D. Lothrop & Co., Boston. With eleven illustrations by Hopkins. 16mo. Price, $1.25. Despite the efforts of publishers, a brilliant book for boys is a rara avis; therefore “Royal Lowrie” is likely to be appreciated by all lively boys between twelve and forty. While in literary finish the book ranks with the best novels of the day, the characters are the boys and girls of our modern High Schools. The plot is of breathless interest, but of such a character that we will warrant when the general mystification is dispersed no reader will feel like ever undertaking to seem what he is not. The humiliation which at last overtakes Royal Lowrie and Archer Bishop is so very thorough that the two gay, thoughtless fellows, in the language of the American Bookseller, “resolve in future to be wholly true, even in little things. Royal Lowrie is an especially engaging rattlepate, and we do not wonder that he wins forgiveness on all sides.” Although it is an irresistibly humorous story of high-spirited boys and girls, the book is calculated to exert as strong a restraining influence as any volume which will be found in our Sunday-school Libraries. ENTERPRISE. We copy the following from The American Bookseller, New York: Few people can have failed to notice the great enterprise, if they have not observed the scrupulous care with which Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co. have published a class of books adapted to the highest culture of the people. It is only ten years since they commenced the work of publishing, and their list now numbers more than six hundred volumes. We are glad to make record, that brave and persistent following of a high ideal has been successful. Messrs. D. Lothrop & Co. have given special attention to the publication of books for children and youths, rightly considering that in no department is the best, as regards literary excellence and purity of moral and religious reading, of so great importance. Yet the names of works by such authors as Austin Phelps, D.D., Francis Wayland, and Dr. Nehemiah Adams on their catalogue, will show that maturer readers have not been uncared for. Of their work projected for the coming season, we have not room to speak in detail; it will suffice for the present to say that it is wide in range, including substantial and elegantly illustrated books, all in the line of the practical and useful, and fresh in character and treatment. Their two juvenile magazines, Wide Awake and Babyland, are warmly welcomed in every part of the English-speaking world. We advise any of our readers who desire to know more about these publications, to send to D. Lothrop & Co., Boston, for an illustrated catalogue. All who visit their establishment, corner of Franklin and Hawley streets, will not only be courteously welcomed and entertained, but will have the pleasure of seeing one of the most spacious and attractive bookstores in the country. Baby Bunting. Short Stories with Bright Pictures. By the Best American Authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.00. Baby Bunting is a beautiful quarto with one of the most attractive outsides we have seen for a long time. It is made up of choice stories adapted to the reading of children from four to eight years of age. They are all short, few of them being over a page in length, and each is accompanied by a full page engraving. It is just the kind of book that ought to be popular, and undoubtedly will be. Young Folks’ History of Germany. By Charlotte M. Yonge. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price, $1.50. This handsome volume is the first of a series, which will include the principal countries of Europe, the succeeding numbers of which will appear at brief intervals. Miss Yonge, whose talents have been exerted in various directions for the benefit of young readers, has been peculiarly successful in this series, which has had a very large sale in Europe, and deserves a like popularity here. It covers not only the entire period of German civilization down to the present time, but it gives an account of ancient Germany and its inhabitants in times which might almost be called pre-historic. The first chapters are explanatory of the German mythology, and of the ancient methods of worship. The Nibelungen Lied is described and its story told. The real history begins about the year 496 A.D., at a time when the Franks were the victorious race in Europe. From that time down to the beginning of the present year the record is continuous. The volume is profusely illustrated. Happy Moods of Happy Children. Original Poems. By favorite American authors. Boston: D. Lothrop & Co. Price $1.00. We venture to say that no publishing house in the country will issue this season anything choicer in the way of a presentation book of poems than this charming volume. The poems it contains were written expressly for Mr. Lothrop, and have never before been brought together in collected form. Among the authors represented are Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Clara Doty Bates, Margaret G. Preston, Ella Farman, Mrs. Platt, Harriet McEwen Kimball, Mary A. Lathbury, Nora Perry, Mrs. L. C. Whiton, Celia Thaxter, Edgar Fawcett, and many others. Although the volume is ostensibly preferred for children, it is one which grown-up people will equally enjoy. There are a score or more of illustrations, most of them full-page, exquisitely drawn and engraved. PANSY'S PAGE. FOUR GIRLS AT CHAUTAUQUA. By Pansy. 12mo. Illustrated$150 The most fascinating “watering-place” story ever published. Four friends, each a brilliant girl in her way, tired of Saratoga and Newport, try a fortnight at the new summer resort on Chautauqua Lake, choosing the time when the National Sunday-school Assembly is in camp. Rev. Drs. Vincent, Deems, Cuyler, Edward, Eggleston, Mrs. Emily Huntington Miller, move prominently through the story. HOUSEHOLD PUZZLES. By Pansy. 12mo. Illustrated150 How to make one dollar do the work of five. A family of beautiful girls seek to solve this “puzzle.” Piquant, humorous, but written with an intense purpose. THE RANDOLPHS. By Pansy. 12mo. Illustrated150 A sequel to Household Puzzles, in which the Puzzles are agreeably disposed of. GRANDPA'S DARLINGS, By Pansy. 16mo. Illustrated125 A big book, full of “good times” for the little people of the family. ESTER RIEDBy Pansy.150 JULIA RIED"150 THREE PEOPLE"150 THE KING'S DAUGHTER"150 WISE AND OTHERWISE"150 CUNNING WORKMEN"125 JESSIE WELLS"75 DOCIA'S JOURNAL"75 BERNIE'S WHITE CHICKEN"75 HELEN LESTER"75 A CHRISTMAS TIME"15 MISS JULIA A. EASTMAN is one of the most popular of our modern writers. YOUNG RICK. By Julia A. Eastman. Large 16mo. Twelve illustrations by Sol Eytinge. $1.50 A bright, fascinating story of a little boy who was both a blessing and a bother.—Boston Journal. The most delightful book on the list for the children of the family, being full of adventures and gay home scenes and merry play-times. “Paty” would have done credit to Dickens in his palmiest days. The strange glows and shadows of her character are put in lovingly and lingeringly, with the pencil of a master. Miss Margaret’s character of light is admirably drawn, while Aunt Lesbia, Deacon Harkaway, Tom Dorrance, and the master and mistress of Graythorpe poor-house are genuine “charcoal sketches.” STRIKING FOR THE RIGHT. By Julia A. Eastman. Large 16mo. Illustrated$175 While this story holds the reader breathless with expectancy and excitement, its civilizing influence in the family is hardly to be estimated. In all quarters it has met with the warmest praise. THE ROMNEYS OF RIDGEMONT. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo. Illustrated$150 BEULAH ROMNEY. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo. Illustrated$150 Two stones wondrously alive, flashing with fun, sparkling with tears, throbbing with emotion. The next best thing to attending Mrs. Hale’s big boarding-school is to read Beulah’s experience there. SHORT-COMINGS AND LONG-GOINGS. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo. Illustrated$125 A remarkable book, crowded with remarkable characters. It is a picture gallery of human nature. KITTY KENT'S TROUBLES. By Julia A. Eastman. 16mo. Illustrated$150 “A delicious April-day style of book, sunshiny with smiles on one page while the next is misty with tender tears. Almost every type of American school-girl is here represented—the vain Helen Dart, the beauty, Amy Searle, the ambitious, high bred, conservative Anna Matson; but next to Kitty herself sunny little Pauline Sedgewick will prove the general favorite. It is a story fully calculated to win both girls and boys toward noble, royal ways of doing little as well as great things. All teachers should feel an interest in placing it in the hands of their pupils.” BOOKS FOR YOUNG HEROES AND BRAVE WORKERS. VIRGINIA. By W. H. G. Kingston. 16mo. Illustrated$125 A stirring story of adventure upon sea and land. AFRICAN ADVENTURE AND ADVENTURERS. By Rev. G. T. Day, D. D. 16 mo. Illustrated$150 The stories of Speke, Grant, Baker, Livingstone and Stanley are put into simple shape for the entertainment of young readers. NOBLE WORKERS. Edited by S. F. Smith, D. D. 16mo.$150 STORIES OF SUCCESS. Edited by S. F. Smith, D. D. 16mo.$150 Inspiring biographies and records which leave a most wholesome and enduring effect upon the reader. MYTHS AND HEROES. 16mo. Illustrated. Edited by S. F. Smith, D. D.$150 KNIGHTS AND SEA KINGS. Edited by S. F. Smith, D. D. 12mo. Illustrated$150 Two entertaining books, which will fasten forever the historical and geographical lessons of the school-room firmly in the student’s mind. CHAPLIN'S LIFE OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 16mo. Illustrated$150 LIFE OF AMOS LAWRENCE. 12mo. Ill.$150 Two biographies of perennial value. No worthier books were ever offered as holiday presents for our American young men. WALTER NEAL'S EXAMPLE. By Rev. Theron Brown. 16mo. Illustrated$125 Walter Neal’s Example is by Rev. Theron Brown, the editor of that very successful paper, The Youth’s Companion. The story is a touching one, and is in parts so vivid as to seem drawn from the life.—N. Y. Independent. TWO FORTUNE-SEEKERS. Stories by Rossiter Johnson, Louise Chandler Moulton, E. Stuart Phelps, Ella Farman, etc. Fully illustrated$150 “MISS FARMAN has the very desirable knack of imparting valuable ideas under the guise of a pleasing story.”—The New Century. MRS. HURD'S NIECE. By Ella Farman. Ill.$150 A thrilling story for the girls, especially for those who think they have a “mission,” to whom we commend sturdy English Hannah, with her small means, and her grand success. Saidee Hurd is one of the sweetest girls ever embalmed in story, and Lois Gladstone one of the noblest. THE COOKING CLUB OF TU-WHIT HOLLOW. By Ella Farman. 16mo. Eight full-page illustrations$125 Worth reading by all who delight in domestic romance.—Fall River Daily News. The practical instructions in housewifery, which are abundant, are set in the midst of a bright, wholesome story, and the little housewives who figure in it are good specimens of very human, but at the same time very lovable, little American girls. It ought to be the most successful little girls’ book of the season.—The Advance. A LITTLE WOMAN. By Ella Farman. 16m.$100 The daintiest of all juvenile books. From its merry pages, winsome Kinnie Crosby has stretched out her warm little hand to help thousands of young girls. A WHITE HAND. By Ella Farman. 12m. Ill.$150 A genuine painting of American society. Millicent and Jack are drawn by a bold, firm hand. No one can lay this story down until the last leaf is turned. WIDE AWAKE. AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE For the Young Folks. $2.00 PER ANNUM. POSTAGE PREPAID. Edited by ELLA FARMAN. Published by D. LOTHROP & CO., Boston, Mass. It always contains a feast of fat things for the little folks, and folks who are no longer little find there lost childhood in its pages. We are not saying too much when we say that its versatile editor—Ella Farman, is more fully at home in the child’s wonder-land than any other living American writer. She is thoroughly en rapport with her readers, gives them now a sugar plum of poesy, now a dainty jelly-cake of imagination, and cunningly intermixes all the solid bread of thought that the child’s mind can digest and assimilate.—York True Democrat. The $1000 Prize Series. Pronounced by the Examining Committee, Rev. Drs. Lincoln, Rankin and Day, superior to any similar series.
Sold by Booksellers generally, and sent by Mail, postpaid, on receipt of price. BOSTON: D. LOTHROP & CO., PUBLISHERS. |