390 ACCOUNT OF THE AllCTIC REGIONS. 



officer of the watch, that the ship to the eastward of 

 lis, appeared to he forced by the ice upon her beam 

 ends, or into an heeling posture. I immediately as- 

 cended the deck, ancl having cleaned the glasses of 

 a good telescope, I hastened to the mast-head. I 

 at once attributed the cause of the deception to 

 unequal refraction. This ship, which, two hours be- 

 fore, was 4^ miles beyond the visible horizon, now 

 appeared as far within it, and was in every respect 

 deformed like the ships above mentioned. The ice 

 between us and the Henrietta, was compact and 

 motionless ; in confirmation of which, a few hours 

 afterv/ards, we found she had resumed her former 

 appearance ; that is, she had apparently returned to 

 her situation beyond the horizon. Now, the dis- 

 tance of the Henrietta, 1 35 miles, as before deter- 

 mined, added to about 4 miles that the horizon was 

 visible beyond her, gives 174 niiles for its distance, 

 which is greater by 8^ miles, than we derive from 

 estimation, on the principle of the earth's curvature, 

 with an elevation of 90 feet. 



The horizon on this occasion, between the east and 

 north, though continuous, appeared curiously undu- 

 lated. There appeared a difference of nearly a quar- 

 ter of a degree, between the elevation of the highest 

 and lowest portions of the circumferential boundary. 

 I have occasionally observed other effects of at- 

 mospheric refraction, such as produce an inverted 

 image of distant ships ; an elevation of the bow or 



