set sail in a southerly direction, standing off
to sea about forty leagues. While sailing on this course, we
encountered a current running from southeast to northwest,
so strong and furious that we were put into great fear and
were exposed to imminent peril. This current was so strong
that the Strait of Gibraltar and that of the Faro of Messina
appeared to us like mere stagnant water in comparison with
it. We could scarcely make headway against it, though we had
the wind fresh and fair; so, seeing that we made no
progress, or but very little, we determined to turn our
prows to the northwest.[12]

"As, if I remember aright, your Excellency understands
something of cosmography, I intend to describe to you our
progress in our navigation by the latitude and longitude. We
sailed so far to the south that we entered the torrid zone
and penetrated the circle of Cancer.... Having passed the
equinoctial line and sailed six degrees to the south of it,
we lost sight of the north star altogether, and even the
stars of Ursa Major--or, to speak better, the guardians
which revolve about the firmament--were scarcely seen. Very
desirous of being the author who should designate the other
polar star of the firmament, I lost, many a time, my night's
sleep, while contemplating the movement of the stars about
the southern pole. I desired to ascertain which had the
least motion, and which might be nearest to the firmament;
but I was not able to accomplish it with such poor
instruments as I used, which were the quadrant and
astrolabe. I could not distinguish a star which had less
than ten degrees of motion; so that I was not satisfied,
within myself, to name any particular one for the pole of
the meridian, on account of the large revolution which they
all made around the firmament.

"While I was arriving at this conclusion, I recollected a
verse of our poet Dante, which may be found in the first
chapter of his "Purgatory," where he imagines he is leaving
this hemisphere to repair to the other and attempting to
describe the antarctic pole, and says:

"'To the right hand I turned, and fixed my mind
On the other pole attentive, where I saw
Four stars ne'er seen before, save by the ken
Of our first parents. Heaven of their rays
Seemed joyo