Chap. VIII. PARRY'S THIRD VOYAGE. 241 



"magnificent inlet," Sir James Lancaster's Sound, 

 and found it entirely, as usual, free from ice, except 

 here and there a berg, " floating about in that 

 solitary grandeur," of which these enormous masses 

 are said to convey so sublime an idea. Proceeding 

 "vexatiously slow' on the 13th, they had the 

 mortification to perceive the sea ahead covered with 

 young ice, on entering which recourse was had to 

 "sallying," breaking it with boats ahead, and 

 various other expedients, all alike ineffectual, with- 

 out a fresh and free breeze furnishing a constant 

 impetus; "so that after seven or eight hours of 

 unsuccessful labour in this way, we were obliged to 

 remain as we were, fairly and immoveably beset." 

 Thus for three days they continued struggling with 

 the young ice, to little or no purpose, now and then 

 gaining half a mile of ground to windward, in a 

 little " hole " of open water ; and after all rather 

 losing ground than otherwise, while the young ice 

 was every hour increasing in thickness. 



On the 17th they found themselves driven back 

 to the eastward of Admiralty Inlet, the young ice 

 still increasing in thickness. This was certainly a 

 most severe trial of the patierice and perseverance 

 of Captain Parry, of a different kind but equally 

 annoying as that of " Fox's Channel " and the 

 " Frozen Strait." It once occurred to him that as, 

 in crossing Baffin's Bay, he had expended unex- 

 pectedly nearly the whole of the season, and as, 



R 



