te climate that in
winter they have no cold and in summer are not troubled with
heat. The sky and atmosphere are seldom overshadowed with
clouds, and the days are almost always serene. Dew sometimes
falls, but very lightly, and only for the space of three or
four hours, and then vanishes like mist. They have scarcely
any vapors, and the sky is splendidly adorned with stars
unknown to us, of which I have retained a particular
remembrance, and have enumerated as many as twenty whose
brightness is equal to that of Venus or Jupiter. I
considered also their circuit and their various motions,
and, having a knowledge of geometry, I easily measured their
circumference and diameter, and am certain, therefore, that
they are of much greater magnitude than men imagine. Among
the others, I saw three _Canopi_, two being very bright,
while the third was dim and unlike the others.

"The antarctic pole has not the Ursa Major and Minor, which
can be seen at our arctic pole; neither are there any bright
stars touching the pole, but of those which revolve around
it there are four, in the form of a quadrangle. While these
are rising, there is seen at the left a brilliant Canopus,
of admirable magnitude, which, having reached mid-sky, forms
the figure of a triangle. To these succeed three other
brilliant stars, of which the one placed in the centre has
twelve degrees of circumference. In the midst of them is
another brilliant Canopus. After these follow six other
bright stars, whose splendor surpasses that of all others in
the eighth sphere.... These are all to be seen in the Milky
Way, and when they arrive at the meridian show the figure of
a triangle, but have two sides longer than the other. I saw
there many other stars, and carefully observed their various
motions, composing a book which treats of them particularly.
In this book I have related almost all the remarkable things
which I have encountered in the course of my navigation, and
with which I have become acquainted. The book is at present
in the possession of the king, and I hope he will return it
soon into my hands.

"I examined some things in that hemisphere very diligently,
which enables me to contradict the opinions of philosophers.
Among other things, I saw the rainbow--that is, th