102 HOPES DISAPPOINTED. 



Morning of the 17th came, and our hopes 

 were strongly excited. It was an auspicious 

 day, for it was the date of Sir E. Parry's getting 

 clear from nearly the same place on his return 

 to England ; but there was no such good fortune 

 in store for us. We had been forced nearer to 

 Cape Comfort, which jutted out something to 

 the north, forming with the wind then pre- 

 dominating a weather shore, under the lee of 

 which it was natural to suppose there would be a 

 ' lead ' of water ; but contrary to experience and 

 the expectation of all on board, the ice was 

 found to be locked in to the very base of the 

 rocks, and presented a barrier as insuperable as 

 the one just before us. Still the gale from the 

 eastward howled on, and though not a spot of 

 water could be detected ahead, yet there was a 

 channel for upwards of three miles formed in the 

 place we had left ; in fact, all that was wanted 

 was a breeze of the same kind from the west. 

 The weather throughout the afternoon was wild 

 and gloomy, and the evening closed in with 

 showers of sleet. The ice was disturbed, and 

 though too firmly wedged to open out, cracked 

 and heaved as if seeking relief from the grinding 

 pressure, but all in vain. The whole cemented 

 mass, however, yielded to the general impulse, and 

 ice and ship were borne helplessly along before 

 the violence of the gale. Much water had been 



