the Congelation oj uickJUver . 37 b 
i " water, I could never make the mercury link, either by hold- 
ing it before the fire, or carrying it into a warm room, though 
“ the experiments always fucceeded when the thermometer 
“ previoufly Hood at -58° or lower. 
“ People who were well cloathed, and in brifk motion, or 
“ driving with rein-deer, could bear this cold an hour or two ; 
“ but fuch as travelled with horfes in a Hedge loon found it ne- 
“ ceflary to have recourfe to the farm-houfes to warm tliem- 
“ felves. On going out from a hot room, fome of the firft 
c ‘ inlpirations were rather heavy and difficult; but the breath- 
“ ing foon became eafier. It felt dreadfully cold; but Hill I 
“ could not perceive, from the fenfation alone, that the wea- 
“ ther was fo extraordinarily fevere as it appeared to be by the 
<4 inftruments. Having fpent an hour at the houfe of one of 
“ my friends, in the afternoon of the 2$th of January, and 
“ finding on my return that a thermometer, graduated to 
“ — 58°, had funk into the ball, I could not at fir ft believe it 
“ had happened from the cold, but thought the inftrument 
“ muft be broken, till other thermort^-ters that were hanging 
66 near it convinced me of the truth.’ 5 
Several reflexions prefent themfelves on the perufal of thefe 
obfervations. The phenomena fairly (hew, that there was a 
fufficient degree of cold to congeal the quickfilver in Mr. hel- 
l ant’s thermometers, which lometimes funk regularly into 
the bulb, but commonly ftuck faft in the tube till it was heated 
by the fun, the fire, or a warm room, and thus made to fub- 
iide. The continuance of this cold was very remarkable ; it 
Jafted no lefs than three days, with fufficient intenlitv to freeze 
mercury; a circumftance almoft unparalleled any where, and 
the more extraordinary, becaufe M. hell ant, during twenty- 
three years that he had made obfervations in Lapland, never 
Vol. LXXIIL Ddd before 
