204 A Ram/all. 



operations begin to get tedious and uninteresting, 

 usually terminating in dirt, weariness, and discom- 

 fort. 



July 13th. — We have unfortunately broken our 

 hydrometer, and therefore are unable for a time to 

 observe the specific gravity of the sea- water, which, 

 with our other observations, we have been regularly 

 taking every two hours ; but the doctor is most 

 philosophical with regard to his loss, and I do not 

 doubt that in a short time he will devise some 

 instrument by which we may continue our obser- 

 vations. 



Monday, July l^th. — When I rose this morning 

 it was actually raining ; the first rainfall we have 

 had since leaving the Atlantic. I am afraid I did 

 not greet it as an old friend, for it materially assisted 

 in making the upper deck in a more filthy state than 

 it was before, if such a thing were possible. The 

 doctor fully confirmed his reputation for ingenuity 

 this forenoon by constructing a hydrometer out of 

 a small bottle, a quill, and a little of my mercury. 

 It is a decided success. In consequence of a thick 

 fog which prevailed in the morning, the ship was 

 made fast to a floe, and the men employed in making 

 off the blubber from the last whale caught. Clearing 

 up in the afternoon, steam was raised, and we are 

 now proceeding in the direction of Pond's Bay, 

 intending to fish along the edge of the floe. 



Tuesday, July lbth. — Being thick and foggy this 



