206 Foggy Weather. 



weather ; occasionally the sun will break out, dis- 

 persing the mist, but only for a very short time, 

 when we are again enveloped in fog. It is most 

 tantalizing, as it is impossible to keep a look-out for 

 fish, for not even Sam Weller's " double magnify- 

 ing glasses of hextra power " could pierce the dense 

 mist which surrounds us. We are also amongst 

 much ice, and it is impossible to find our way out ; 

 however, it is, thanks to calm weather, loose and 

 open, though there is no saying how long it may 

 remain so. 



Thursday, July Vlth. — A beautiful, clear, calm 

 day. We have steamed away from the obnoxious 

 ice floes, and now resume our weary occupation of 

 looking for fish. At noon I got a cast with the 

 deep-sea lead, having had good sights, so as to fix 

 the ship's position, but with the usual result — no 

 bottom at 200 fathoms. The temperature of the air 

 was 40° ; of the surface, 38 • 2° ; at 200 fathoms, 

 30"5°. By way of experiment I attached an empty 

 bottle well-corked, and with a good coating of seal- 

 ing-wax, to the line just above the lead. When 

 hauled to the surface, the cork was found to be com- 

 pletely driven into the bottle by the pressure of the 

 water, and the bottle was consequently filled. The 

 doctor has discovered amongst his relics a solar 

 thermometer, the bulb of which he painted over with 

 lamp-black, so that, in addition to our other obser- 

 vations, we are also able to register the temperature 



