271 THE GERMAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



having caiiglit a single whale ; he considered it impossible 

 to reach the coast this year, and determined to begin his 

 homeward journey in a few days. Of the Hansa, during 

 tlie last nine days, he had seen nothing. At ten p.m. on 

 the 29th of July, we took leave of the Bienenkorb, and 

 steered in a northerly direction to try and reach the coast 

 in 74° N. Lat. 



, The weather was clear and still, and we had a good 

 opportunity of observing the refraction of light and the 

 mirage. The whole atmosphere was quivering with a kind 

 of wavy motion, so that the exact outline of the object 

 was often so distorted as to be unrecognizable. It may 

 be imagined that pictures of things far beyond our 

 range of sight could thus be seen. Scoresby relates, 

 and it was afterwards proved true, that he once saw and 

 recognized his father's ship, perfectly, in the mirage when 

 it was thirty miles distant. 



The effects of this phenomenon on the distant ice was 

 wonderful ; sometimes it appeared like a mighty wall, 

 and sometimes like a town rich in towers and castles. 



On the 30th of July the weather was fine, and the 

 wind, to our joy, westerly; the ice was, however, so 

 impassable that we had to steam still further north, as 

 the captain found that within the last eight days the ice 

 barrier had shifted some degrees to the east, and he had 

 hopes of finding a large opening in the pack-ice. 



On the 31st of July, at four p.m., we were in 73° 59' 

 N. Lat., and 13° 3' W. Long., when we saw a great deal 

 of loose ice, and forcing our way through, steered in a 

 westerly direction. Towards evening the wind died 

 away, and we got up steam, the floes lying loosely 

 scattered around us. Here, as on other occasions, steam 



