28 
JOURNAL OF A 
About noon, and for several hours, the heavens being remarkably 
clear and cloudless, but the air filled with a reddish haze, the sua 
was surrounded by a very large jDcrihelion, in appearance about ten. 
diameters from its orl): towards the east, its brightness was so. 
great, that it faintly showed prismatic colours. The captain ob- 
served, that he had never seen a similar phenomenon: but I re- 
member, Avhen I was in Germany, during a remarkably cold winter, 
that, on a bright day, Fahrenheit's thermometer being at 28° below 0.. 
a similar exhibition was seen. A bright circle surrounded the sun^ 
other circles passing through its centre, and intersecting the former. 
"Where the intersections took place, very bright spots appeared^ 
called mock-suns. This evening, the clouds in the west were beau^ 
tifully tinged Avitli brown, but seemed at variance both with each 
other, and with the wind: the sky had appeared thus for some days, 
the clouds taking a course in our favour, while the wind remained 
contrary. We hoped, therefore, for a favourable change; nor were; 
we disappointcdo 
l6th. The air and water seemed filled Mdth all kinds of birds, flying- 
or swimming. The albatrosses were the most interesting. They 
seem to rise heavily from the water, and for some time keep flying 
not far from its surface. By degrees they mount up, and soar to a 
great height, where they hover like a kite, wheeling about, and ap-^ 
preaching without much fear towards the ship, little aware of the 
preparations making for their destruction; or rather bidding de- 
fiance to our marksmen, who with all their exertions could never 
hit, nor even frighten, any one of them. I protested against firing 
at inoffensive creatures, without any prospect of profiting by their 
death; for as the boat had been painted, and could not be used to 
fetch them out of the water, if shot, the cruelty of wounding or 
killing them, merely to show skill in shooting, w^as manifest. I 
grant, that for the purpose of obtaining food, or even for examina- 
tion of any unknown animal, one may kill without offence; but if 
that cannot be done, we have no right to take away life. IMy ex- 
liortations were at first disregarded, and my arguments pronounced 
