176 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
“ 25th. This morning we had to hack out a little from the lead we 
were in, as it was closing by the action of the wind. The afternoon was 
employed in warping. 
“ 27th. Yesterday was employed in warping; to-day the same. This 
morning, when working with the others, the piece I was on sank with 
my weight, and down I went, bnt providentially the boat was near, and 
I got in, nothing the worse, only the wetting. Captain Young afterwards, 
and the boatswain’s mate, followed my example, so I was not alone. 
Stopped at dinner-time. At 6 p. m. again commenced warping, and con¬ 
tinued until 1 a. i. ; no use, still fast beset. 
“ 28th. We still remain in the same place ; nothing of importance 
occurred during the day; three seals shot; no motion in the ice; it looks 
rather like a winter in the floe. 
“ 29th. To-day has been much the same as yesterday ; no movement 
in the ice ; we are indeed ‘ cribbed, cabined, and confinedat present 
we could not move five yards ahead. The young ice prevented the ap¬ 
pearance of seals, so there were none shot. I examined some of the seals 
shot yesterday, and preserved specimens. I found the foramen ovale com¬ 
pletely closed, so that the length of time they can remain under water is 
not due, as some have supposed, to the permanent patency ofthis quondam 
foramen, but must depend on something else. Although the arterial 
blood was as red as could be expected, yet the muscles seemed very dark, 
and as if gorged with venous blood. The eye, when the animal was 
living, and immediately after death, seemed of a greenish hue, but half 
an hour afterwards it had a brown appearance. The recti muscles seemed 
strong and fleshy, and the lens quite circular, not oval. Two of those 
examined were females, measuring about 4 feet, 3 feet, 1 foot 6 inches ; 
110 lbs. in weight, their intestinal tract between 30 and 40 feet; recepta- 
culum chyli, large, and plentifully supplied with blood-vessels, lacteals, 
and nerves, containing a large quantity of chyle. The stomach large, 
and consisting of two portions, full of small crustaceans, in different 
stages of digestion; the oesophagus entering immediately into the first 
stomach, no cul de sac being apparent; stomach contracted in the middle, 
thus divided into two; second stomach very thick in its coats. One animal 
had its brains knocked out by a rifle-ball, yet, ten minutes afterwards, its 
heart was pulsating in its thorax as I held it in my hand; their skulls 
are very thin. In the evening we had foot-races, running backward and 
forward; the men seemed all to enjoy themselves very much. 
“ 30th. This morning divine service was held, as usual, in the fore¬ 
castle. The barometer gave indications of a gale, which commenced after 
church, and still continues. The wind is now N. W., accompanied by 
a mist; we hope it may do us good, by opening the ice so as to allow 
us out of it; the air was keen and bracing on deck, but walking made 
it very pleasant. 
“ 31st. The gale rather moderated towards morning, and is now over; 
we experienced a slight 1 nip’ at 5 a. m. The wind appears to have done 
us little good, only drifting us with the pack A. W. The wind has now 
veered to S. E. No better prospect of getting out of the Bay. No seals 
