Page:Early voyages to Terra Australis.djvu/47

 Rh strait, is drawn a large country stretching southward to the verge of the several maps. The earliest in all probability, and the most fully detailed of these maps, is the one from which we give the annexed reduction of that portion immediately under consideration. It is a large chart of the world, on a plane scale, on vellum, 8 ft. 2 in. by 3 ft. 10 in., highly ornamented, with figures, etc., and with the names in French. At the upper corner, on the left hand, is a shield of the arms of France, with the collar of St. Michael; and on the right, another shield of France and Dauphiny, quarterly. It was probably executed in the time of Francis I. of France, for his son the Dauphin, afterwards Henry II. This chart formerly belonged to Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford, after whose death it was taken away by one of his servants. It was subsequently purchased by Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., and presented by him to the British Museum in 1790.

The second, in all probability, of these, is contained in an atlas drawn at Dieppe in 1547, at present in the possession of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart., of Middle Hill, Worcestershire. It contains the name of Nicholas Vallard, of Dieppe. The editor has been unsuccessful in his efforts to gain a sight of this atlas, or even of a fac-simile lithograph made by Sir Thomas Phillipps of the map supposed to contain the representation of Australia. Hence he has been compelled to rely upon the memory of Sir Frederick Madden, who had an opportunity of examining the atlas some years since, and who recollects that though