XL] SIR HUGH WILLOUGHBY. 169 



schooner glided swiftly on between the walls of rock, until 

 an intervening crag shut out from our sight the friendly 

 group that had come forth to bid us " Good speed." In 

 another twenty-four hours we had threaded our way back 

 through the intricate fiords ; and leaving Hammerfesi three 

 or four miles on the starboard hand, on the evening of the 

 28th of July, we passed out between the islands of Soroe 

 and Bolsvoe into the open sea. 



My intention was to go first to Bear Island, and ascertain 

 for myself in what direction the ice was lying to the south- 

 ward of Spitzbergen. 



Bear — or Cherie Island, is a diamond-shaped island, 

 about ten miles long, composed of secondary rocks — prin- 

 cipally sandstone and limestone — lying about 280 miles due 

 north of the North Cape. It was originally discovered by 

 Barentz, the 9th of June, 1596, on the occasion of his last 

 and fatal voyage. Already had he commanded two expe- 

 ditions sent forth by the United Provinces to discover a 

 north-east passage to that dream-land — Cathay; and each 

 time, after penetrating to the eastward of Nova Zembla, he 

 had been foiled by the impenetrable line of ice, On this 

 occasion he adopted the bolder and more northerly courses 

 which brought him to Bear Island. Thence, plunging into 

 the mists of the frozen sea, he ultimately sighted the western 

 mountains of Spitzbergen. Unable to proceed further in 

 that direction, Barentz retraced his steps, and again passing 

 in sight of Bear Island, proceeded in a south-east direction 

 to Nova Zembla, where his ships got entangled in the ice, 

 and he subsequently perished. 



Towards the close of the sixteenth century, in spite of 

 repeated failures, one endeavour after another was made to 

 penetrate to India across these fatal waters. 



The first English vessel that sailed on the disastrous quest 

 was the " Bona Espcranza" in the last year of King Edward 

 VI. Her commander was Sir Hugh Willoughby, and we 

 have still extant a copy of the instructions drawn up by 

 Sebastian Cabot — the Grand Pilot of England, for his 



