THE ATLANTIC. 17 



tions of tliis kind have now brought to a cer- 1824. 

 tainty the assertion, that the approach to ice August. 

 from an open sea, may be ascertained by the 

 sudden changes of the thermometer ; and act- 

 ing from past experience, I caused the most 

 attentive look-out to be kept, on observing 

 it to fall suddenly on this morning. Yet this 

 change first took place in a very thick fog, and 

 we ran about ten miles before the ice was seen. 



Although the bergs now discovered were of 

 no considerable size, yet they were the first 

 seen by the officers, none of whom had been 

 out before ; and, notwithstanding a cold rain 

 fell heavily, every one exerted himself to 

 sketch such masses as struck his fancy, as 

 head-pieces for his letters to England. 



A strong ripple of current was observable in 

 eddies on the smooth surface of the sea, and to 

 all appearance it was setting due south. Having 

 ran about thirty miles from noon, the weather 

 cleared in the evening, and we discovered the 

 coast of Labrador very distant, and extending 

 from w.b.s.ss. to s.^w. This inhospitable land 

 was extremely high and rugged, and its immense 

 valleys were still partly filled with snow. The 

 summits exhibited a remarkable tendency to 

 form themselves into pinnacles, which soared 



far above the more rounded masses of rock 



c 



