OCCUPATIONS. 67 



rometer ; the degrees of the aneroid barometer, the 

 declinometer, and dipping-needle. Once in the 

 month a term clay, extending to thirty-six hours, 

 was kept, in which the fluctuations of the magnets 

 were noted every two and a half minutes, and 

 various series of observations were made for as- 

 certaining the magnetic intensity with the mag- 

 netometer, the vibration apparatus, and Lloyd's 

 dipping-needle. Mr. Rae ascertained frequently 

 the time and rates of the chronometers by ob- 

 servations of the fixed stars ; and a register of the 

 winds and weather and appearances of the aurora 

 was constantly kept.* 



From this sketch of our occupations, it will be 

 seen that our time was filled up, and that we had 

 no leisure for ennui in the long winter. In fact, 

 we enjoyed as much comfort as we could reason- 

 ably expect, and had our postal arrangements suc- 

 ceeded as well as the others, we should have had 

 little more to desire. Our schemes for sending 

 and receiving letters were, however, failures, and 

 productive of much subsecpient disappointment. 



The packet of Admiralty despatches and private 

 letters sent off on the 18th of September, 1848, on 



* The magnetic observations are now in process of reduction 

 at Woolwich, and will soon be published under the super- 

 intendance of Lieutenant Colonel Sabine, along with an abstract 

 of the meteorological observations. 



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