North-west Passage, 233 



mercury possesses of congealing and solidifying, in a few hours, 

 pure olive oil shaken with it; while it hardly alters the liquidity 

 of the seed-oils, but gives them an orange hue, and causes them 

 to deposit a quantity of precipitate, which never acquires the 

 hardness of the coagulum produced with the olive oil. The per- 

 nitrate of mercury emploved in this process, is prepared by dis- 

 solving, without heat, six parts by weight of mercury in seven parts 

 and a half of nitric acid, of about 88° of Reaumur's aerometer, 

 during the action of which the saline solution remains fluid, the 

 excess of acid preventing its crystallization. 



NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 

 [From the Edinburgh Magazine and Review, vol. v. pages 141 and 142, 

 for May IZT^J. as edited by the celebrated Gilbert Stuart, now very 

 scarce, that volume having been mostly de.stroyed when a printing-office 

 took fire.] 



The last undertaking to find out a north-west passage (with- 

 out the assistance of Govenmient) was above 80 vears ago, when 

 Arthur Dobbs, Esq. a gentleman of letters and fortune, and a 

 member of the Irish House of Commons, drew up reasons for a 

 passage to the South Seas by the north-west parts of Hudson's 

 Bay. The reasons that determined him to think that a passage 

 was obtainable about the north-west part of Hudson's Bav, near 

 lat. 64. were 1st. That by all accounts, the coast in those parts 

 was broken land, and islands with large openings between them. 

 2dly. That there were strong tides from the west and north west. 

 3d!y. That black whales were seen in great plenty, which must 

 come from some western ocean, not being found in any other 

 parts of the bay. 



Mr. Dobbs showed his MS. to Sir Charles Wager, then first Lord 

 of the Admiralty, who seemed satisfied of the probability of the 

 discovery, and the prospect of attempting it, and mentioned the 

 Hudson's Bay Company as the propcrest body to be con.sulted; 

 but they replied they had lost two sloops they had fitted out in 

 the year 171!), under one Ballon, and seemed quite unconcerned 

 about any discovery that miglit be made. 



Mr. Dobbs however got a view of their charter; where he 

 found their privileges so extensive, that they alone would be the 

 gainers should the attempt succeed, and consequently thought it 

 highly imprudent to go on his own bottom. He therefore waited 

 on their governor, SirBibie Lake, and showed him his MS., and 

 assured him that one or two sloops would be sulficicnt,an(l to be 

 f-ent from Churchill to the Welcome, to try the tides; and as the 

 distance was but about 140 leagues, it might be sailed in four or 

 five divs, and that, if they met a flood of tide, it would ascertain 

 a piissngc. The sloops were sent out, and on their return Sir 



Bibic 



