_Delaman Satanaxia_, or the land created by the hand of Satan. This latter
may possibly have some reference to an ignorant position of Iceland. Both
were probably theoretic, for the fancied purpose of _preserving a balance_
on the globe with the continents and islands already known; an idea which
was transferred by learned theorists, and even persisted in for a
considerable part of the eighteenth century, under the name of the _Terra
Australis incognita_; and was only banished by the enlightened voyages of
scientific discovery, conducted under the auspices of our present
venerable sovereign.

The globe of Martin Behaim, in 1492, repeats the island of _Antillia_, and
inserts beyond it to the _west_, the isle of St Brandan or Ima, from a
fabulous work of the middle ages. Occasion has already occurred to notice
two other ancient pretended discoveries of the New World: the fabulous
voyages of the Zenos, another Venetian tale; and the equally fabulous
Portuguese island of the _Seven Churches_, abounding in gold, and
inhabited by Spanish or Portuguese Christians. Britain even had its Madoc
prince of North Wales; and a _white_ nomadic nation in North America,
speaking _Welsh_, is still among the puerile fancies of this nineteenth
century.

All these pretended proofs of any previous knowledge of the _western_
world, resolve into complete demonstrations of perfect ignorance, even in
the art of deception and forgery. Not only is the world indebted to
COLUMBUS for this great and brilliant discovery, but every subsequent
improvement in navigation, geography and hydrography, is justly
attributable to his illustrious example. Much and deservedly as our COOK
and his coadjutors and followers have merited from their country and the
world, they are all to be considered as pupils of the truly great
archnavigator COLUMBUS; himself a worthy scholar from the nautical academy