108 
A VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. 
we are precipitated head-foremost into the water. 
Recovering from our momentary sensation of surprise 
and bewilderment, we look about for the seal. There 
she lies, however, dead upon a tongue of ice, and just 
beneath the surface ; but for this platform beneath the 
waves, which is a rather common shape assumed by 
floating ice, it would have been a difficult matter to 
save one’s self from drowning, owing to the heavy 
weight of our fishing-boots and thick clothing. As it 
is no worse, we grasp the flipper of our dead seal, and 
with no small difficulty she is stowed away on board 
the boat, and we slowly follow. A good pull back to 
the ship to keep up the circulation, and a change of 
dry clothing, terminates our first lesson upon Arctic 
ice—a lesson not easily forgotten; lat. 71° 29' N., 
long. 9° 29' W., temperature of water 31°, of air 32°. 
The ice continues to head us since the 7th, and we 
determine to sail north. Here we obtain our first 
midnight observation of the sun, and find the altitude 
6° 30', lat. 73*12. Up to this point we have been 
endeavouring to accustom ourselves to the want of 
•darkness, and we now begin to enjoy its absence. 
The loom (Colymbus septentrionalis) being a fast 
swimmer and active diver, affords us some sport 
during the necessarily slow progress of our voyage. 
He requires to be hard hit, as the feathers are so 
