WE PART COMPANY. 
207 
moreover, it was a good ten minutes before I could 
make out the writing, and when at last I did spell 
out the letters, their meaning was not very inspiriting: 
u Nous retournons a Reykjavik ! ” So evidently they had 
given it up as a bad job, and had come to the conclusion 
that the island was inaccessible. Yet it seemed very 
hard to have to turn back, after coming so far! we had 
already made upwards of 300 miles since leaving 
Iceland : it could not be much above 120 or 130 
more to Jan Mayen; and although things looked un¬ 
promising, there still seemed such a chance of success, 
that I could not find it in my heart to give in; so— 
having run up a jack at the fore—(all writing on our 
board was out of the question, we were so deluged 
with spray)—I jumped down to wake Fitzgerald and 
Sigurdr, and tell them we were going to cast off, in 
case they had any letters to send home. In the mean 
time, I scribbled a line of thanks and good wishes to 
M. de la Foncibre, and another to you, and gyved it 
with our mails on board the corvette—in a milk can. 
In the mean time all was bustle on board our decks, 
and I think every one was heartily pleased at the 
thoughts of getting the little schooner again under 
