VOYAGE TO GREENLAND. 
97 
until, towards evenin^^, the breeze changing to the 
south, we kept under the lee of this noble break- 
water, and ran to the opposite side which had 
afforded us shelter yesterday ; this gave us an oppor- 
tunity of estimating its extent, which was upwards 
of twenty miles north and south, and more than 
ten miles east and west. The ship’s run this day 
was truly interesting ; for, on looking forward, a 
person, unaccustomed to the navigation of these 
seas, would have considered it impossible for a 
vessel in a strong wind, to sail through an ocean 
encumbered by huge masses of ice in every di- 
rection. At eight o'clock, a thick fog came on ; 
and a heavy fall of snow, accompanied with a gale 
of wind, closed the day. 
During the night the wind suddenly 
June 16. ^ perfect calm, but this did not 
lull Captain Scoresby into security, nor induce him 
to put more sail upon the ship, as the faithful herald 
of the movements of the elements (the barometer) 
foretold an impending storm ; he, consequently, 
kept the ship under close-reefed topsails, though 
every other vessel in company increased the number 
of their sails. In an instant, the wind commenced 
blowing with fury, and in a contrary direction to 
the last gale, causing the ice which before had been 
a friendly shelter, now to become a dangerous foe. 
The violence of the gale making it hazardous to 
beat through a sea thickly strewed with heavy 
pieces of ice, to regain the comfortable shelter we 
H 
