248 DISCOVERIES OF 1631. 



wholesome, either to drink or to dress victuals; 

 *' it made us so short-breath 'd that we were scarce 

 able to speak" — " all our sack, vinegar, oil, and 

 every thing else that was liquid, was now frozen 

 as hard as a piece of wood, and we cut it with a 

 hatchet; our house was all frozen in the inside, 

 and it froze hard within a yard of the fire-side" — 

 and all this happened before the middle of Decem- 

 ber, and in a latitude not thirty miles to the north- 

 ward of that of London. 



In the month of January, James determined the 

 latitude of his winter quarters to be 51° 52', and 

 ascribes the great difference between this and a 

 former observation to the effects of refraction; 

 and, as a proof of it, the disc of the sun, when 

 near the horizon, appeared to be twice as long as 

 it was broad; and by observations it was found 

 that, owing to the refractive power of the atmos- 

 phere, the sun rose full twenty minutes before and 

 set twenty minutes after the regular time. And on 

 two nights, in particular, he observed more stars in 

 the firmament, by two-thirds, than he had ever seen 

 before. 



In February the scurvy began to make its 

 appearance among the crew, exhibiting the usual 

 symptoms of weakness, swelled legs, sore mouths, 

 black turgid gums, and teeth loose in the jaw. 

 As the spring advanced the cold increased ; and it 

 is remarked, that the people found it " more mor- 



