Cross, and recalling the sublime passage of Dante, which the most
celebrated commentators have applied to that constellation: -
Io mi volsi a man' destra e posi mente
All' altro polo, e vidi quattro stelle
Non viste mai fuorch' alla prima gente.
Goder parea lo ciel di lor fiammelle;
O settentrional vedovo sito
Poiche privato sei di mirar quelle!
The pleasure we felt on discovering the Southern Cross was warmly
shared by those of the crew who had visited the colonies. In the
solitude of the seas we hail a star as a friend, from whom we have
long been separated. The Portuguese and the Spaniards are
peculiarly susceptible of this feeling; a religious sentiment
attaches them to a constellation, the form of which recalls the
sign of the faith planted by their ancestors in the deserts of the
New World.
The two great stars which mark the summit and the foot of the Cross
having nearly the same right ascension, it follows that the
constellation is almost perpendicular at the moment when it passes
the meridian. This circumstance is known to the people of every
nation situated beyond the tropics, or in the southern hemisphere.
It has been observed at what hour of the night, in different
seasons, the Cross is erect or inclined. It is a timepiece which
advances very regularly nearly four minutes a-day, and no other
group of stars affords to the naked eye an observation of time so
easily made. How often have we heard our guides exclaim in the
savannahs of Venezuela, or in the desert extending from Lima to
Truxillo, "Midnight is past, the Cross begins to bend!" How often
those words reminded us of that affecting scene, where Paul and
Virginia, seated near the source of the river of Lataniers,
conversed together for the last time, and where the old man, at the
sight of the Southern Cross, warns them that it is time to
separate.
The last days of our passage were not so felicitous as the mildness
of the climate and the calmness of the ocean had led us to hope.
The dangers of the sea did not disturb us, but the germs of a
malignant fever became manifest on board our vessel as we drew near
the Antilles. Between decks the ship was excessively hot, and very
much crowded. From the time we passed the tropic, the thermometer
was at thirty-four or thirty-six degrees. Two sailors, several
passengers, and, what is remarkable enough, two negroes from the
coast of Guinea, and a mulatto child, were attacked with a disorder
which appeared to be epidemic. The symptoms were not equally
alarming in all the cases; nevertheless, several persons, and
especially the most robust, fell into delirium after the second
day.
