APPENDIX. 



167 



True Bearing of 



Celestial Object. 



Amount of Mag- 

 netic Error. 



4iE 



REMARKS. 



At ten P.M. I liove to in consequence 

 of the compasses becoming greatly agi- 

 tated. This had frequently been observed 

 on other nights bet^veen the hours of nine 

 and eleven, and had always been the 

 cause of great anxiety to me, while en- 

 deavouring to steer a course after dark. 

 It is well worthy of consideration whether 

 this agitation of the compasses is at all 

 to be attributed to the absence of the 

 sun, or is in any way occasioned by the 

 presence of the Aurora ; which pheno- 

 menon was rarely seen earher than nine 

 P.M. ; and its greatest brilliancy v/as ge- 

 nerally at about ten, although the sun 

 had then been set some hours. 



On one occasion, during the prevalence 

 of an unusually brilliant Aurora, at ten 

 P.M., Mr. Kendall observed that the lar- 

 board binnacle compass would not remain 

 steady at any point, while the starboard 

 one by a bearing of the Pole ^ had de- 

 creased its accustomed error two points, 

 but on the following morning by a bear- 

 ing of the sun, it was found to have re- 

 assumed them. N.B. Up to this period 

 the error on this bearing had been eight 

 points E. ih.) 



As our recent observations had given a 

 magnetic error of four points on a north- 

 east course, I expected on this morning 

 that we were steering east (true,) but a 

 momentary glimpse of the sun's bearing 

 at eight A.M., convinced me that north- 



