324 



ANTARCTIC CRUISE. 



Sydney, to effect the necessary repairs, so as to be ready at the 

 earliest possible day to join the squadron." 



Such were the dangers and difficulties from which the Peacock, 

 by the admirable conduct of her officers and crew, directed by the 

 consummate seamanship of her commander, was enabled at this time 

 to escape. There still, however, remained thousands of miles of a 

 stormy ocean to be encountered, with a ship so crippled as to be 

 hardly capable of working, and injured to such an extent in her hull 

 as to be kept afloat with difficulty. The events of this perilous 

 navigation must, however, be postponed, until I shall have given the 

 narrative of the proceedings of the other vessels of the squadron, 

 while tracing out the position of the icy barrier, and following along 

 the newly discovered continent. 



