40 APPROACH SPITZBERGEN. 



opposite bank of the channel, and there be- 

 came for a time embedded in the ice. Thus 

 circumstanced, a vessel has no other resource 

 than that of patiently awaiting the change of 

 position in the ice, of which she must take 

 every advantage, or she will settle bodily to lee- 

 ward and become completely entangled. We 

 fortunately overcame these little difficulties, and, 

 though occasionally threatened with a deten- 

 tion, finally succeeded in accomplishing a pas- 

 sage through the stream, and in reaching the 

 open sea by six o'clock the following morning. 



This little encounter was not without its 

 salutary effect. It taught those who had been 

 accustomed to the routine of an ordinary navi- 

 gation, to repel that impatience of delay which 

 so much pervades a maritime life, especially in 

 vessels of war ; and it was further useful as an 

 initiation into the manner of navigating a sea 

 encumbered with floating ice. 



On the 26th, we came within sight of the 

 southern promontory of Spitsbergen, and, as 

 we ranged along the land to the northward, 

 the dark pointed summits of the mountains, 

 which characterise the island, rose majestically 

 above beds of snow, giving a bleak and dreary 

 aspect to the coast. 



As Captain Buchan's instructions directed him 



