PREFACE. 



X HOUGH the Natural History of the Coun- 

 tries within the Arctic Circle, and the nature and 

 practice of the Whale-Fishery, possess peculiar, 

 and I may add almost universal, interest ; yet it is 

 remarkable that no original work, published in 

 Britain, excepting a single Tract by Henry Elk- 

 ing, appears to have been devoted entirely to ei- 

 ther subject. In this respect, notwithstanding 

 our important and extensive annual adventures 

 to the Seas of Greenland and Davis' Strait, we 

 have been anticipated and our supineness tacitly 

 reproved by several works that have appeared in 

 other countries. Among foreign authors who have 

 treated of the Regions of the North, or of the 



