30 From Drontheim to Deptford. 



could not help feeling a degree of tliankfulness and content- 

 ment on reaching this point, when I looked back at the success 

 of two years' labour without an accident of any sort, particularly 

 when there are so many nice and valuable instruments, the 

 breaking or injuring any one of which would have tended so 

 materially to destroy our confidence in the accuracy of the whole 

 series. 



Captain Sabine having completed his observations, the instru- 

 ments were re-embarked, and we were ready for sea on the 10th 

 of November, on which day the Governor visited us on board, 

 and was saluted with 13 guns. Latitude of the Cathedral of 

 Drontheim, 63° 25' 50" N. ; Longitude 10° 24' 50" E. 



The weather proving unfavourable, we were detained till the 

 J 3th, when we weighed anchor and worked down the Fiord. In 

 the evening we anchored in a narrow part of the Fiord, and 

 were detained by fresh gales till the 19th, when we again made 

 the attempt, but were shortly obliged to bear up for the nearest 

 anchorage. The westerly winds setting in strong, we continued 

 wind-bound till the 3d December, when we again got under 

 weigh with a fair wind, and ran down the Fiord. On the fol- 

 lowing day we were clear of the Fiord, and discharged the p'ilot. 

 The favourable winds continued till the 5th, and gave us an off- 

 ins of about 30 miles to the west of Stadtland. The wind now 

 shifted to the westward, and soon after began to blow with great 

 violence. The gale lasted without intermission for the three fol- 

 lowing days. On the Sth, we found ourselves much nearer land 

 than we expected from our reckoning, and were obliged to keep 

 the ship under a press of canvass to carry us off a lee-shore. 

 From this time till we passed the Naze of Norway our situation 

 was very critical, we had no room for drift, and the ship, under 

 the reefed courses, was so much pressed down, and shipped so 

 much water to leeward, as to be at times nearly water-logged. 

 We, howevei-, made good our course till we had the entrance to 

 the Baltic under our lee. We had, during this gale, much 

 lightning and frequent fire-balls at the mast heads and yard- 

 arms, and it was remarkable how little effect it had on the ba- 

 rometer, indicating that the cause of it was entirely electric. 

 We now proceeded on our voyage without farther incidents 

 worthy of being recorded, and reached Deptford on the 19th 

 December. 2 



