BAFFIN. 289 



of six vessels, under the command of Baffin, the a .d. 

 celebrated discoverer of the Bay which bears 

 his name, making in all twenty vessels. All 

 these ships seemed to have been too much 

 engaged in whaling to attempt any discovery, so 

 much so, that Marmaduke met with a reproof 

 from the commander of the convoy for proposing 

 to search for a passage round the South Cape 

 of Spitzbergen. 



In this voyage we are first made acquainted 

 with the scientific attainments of Baffin, who 

 was the first to observe the great difference in 

 the refraction of the heavenly bodies at different 

 altitudes in high latitudes, and also to assign a 

 right cause to this remarkable phenomenon, but 

 which, he modestly observes, he leaves for " bet- 

 ter schollars to discusse." 



FOTHERBY AND BAFFIN. 



In 1614, we find discovery again becoming an i6U. 

 object of attention, proceeding, however, from a 

 motive totally different from that which actu- 

 ated it before. The coasts of Spitzbergen had 

 become so much frequented by foreign vessels 

 that the Company determined to take posses- 

 sion of all its bays and harbours ; and with this 



u 



