30 A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
of circumstances, for we had at the time just come 
on deck after attending divine service. 
Wednesday, 23d.— Nothing of any interest oc- 
curred for these two days past, the weather has 
been very generally foggy, with occasional showers 
of rain; but we suffered little inconvenience 
from either, because we have scarcely met with 
a piece of ice to retard our progress since we left 
the coast of Greenland, so that fewer hands were 
required to be exposed to the inclemency of the 
weather in working the ship.- During the time 
several seals, porpoises, and birds of- different kinds, 
whose names have been already mentioned, were seen, 
besides two species of birds whose names have not 
been noticed before this voyage. The one is com- 
monly called by seamen Burgomaster (Larus Glau- 
cus, Lin.), a name very clearly of Dutch origin, and 
said to have been suggested to the fishermen of that 
country, from observing that this bird exercised as 
much power over all the other aquatic birds of this 
country, as the magistrate of that name used to exer- 
cise over his fellow-citizens. 
The other bird alluded to is the Red Phalarope 
(Phalaropus Hyperboreus, seu -Tringia Fulicaria, 
Lin.), whither we saw several large flocks, close to 
an iceberg, whither a boat went for the purpose of 
making (magnetic) observations. * 
In returning from this berg, we saw indeed another 
bird that had not been seen before this voyage, and 
which I do not remember to have seen last year 
either, although mentioned by ornithologists as one 
of the visitants of these regions. It has various names, 
* It was found to be so steep however all round, that it wae 
impoesible to get upon it. 
