I now came to the resolution to proceed to the north, and to spend the ensuing winter within the tropic, if I met with no employment before I came there.  I was now well satisfied no continent was to be found in this ocean, but what must lie so far to the south, as to be wholly inaccessible on account of ice; and that if one should be found in the southern Atlantic Ocean, it would be necessary to have the whole summer before us to explore it.  On the other hand, upon a supposition that there is no land there, we undoubtedly might have reached the Cape of Good Hope by April, and so have put an end to the expedition, so far as it related to the finding a continent; which indeed was the first object of the voyage.  But for me at this time to have quitted the southern Pacific Ocean, with a good ship expressly sent out on discoveries, a healthy crew, and not in want either of stores or of provisions, would have been betraying not only a want of perseverance, but of judgment, in supposing the south Pacific Ocean to have been so well explored, that nothing remained to be done in it.  This, however, was not my opinion; for though I had proved that there was no continent but what must lie far to the south, there remained nevertheless room for very large islands in places wholly unexamined; and many of those which were formerly discovered, are but imperfectly explored, and their situations as imperfectly known.  I was besides of opinion, that my remaining in this sea some time longer, would be productive of improvements in navigation and geography, as well as in other sciences.  I had several times communicated my thoughts on this subject to Captain Furneaux; but as it then wholly depended on what we might meet with to the south, I could not give it in orders, without running a risk of drawing us from the main object.  Since now nothing had happened to prevent me from, carrying these views into execution, my intention was first to go in search of the land said to have been discovered by Juan Fernandez, above a century ago, in about the latitude of 38 deg.; if I should fail in finding this land, then to go in search of Easter Island or Davis’s Land, whose situation was known with so little certainty, that the attempts lately made to find it had miscarried.  I next intended to get within the tropic, and then proceed to the west, touching at, and settling the situations of such islands as we might meet with till we arrived at Otaheite, where it was necessary I should stop to look for the Adventure.  I had also thoughts of running as far west as the Tierra Austral del Espiritu Santo, discovered by Quiros, and which M. de Bougainville calls the Great Cyclades.  Quiros speaks of this land as being large, or lying in the neighbourhood of large lands; and as this was a point which M. de Bougainville had neither confirmed nor refuted, I thought it was worth clearing up.  From this land my design was to steer to the south, and so back to the east, between the latitudes of 50 deg. and 60