ole in a direct line.

Our day of rest (27th of July) proved one of the warmest and most
pleasant to the feelings we had yet had upon the ice, though the
thermometer was only from 31 deg. to 36 deg. in the shade, and 37 deg.
in the sun, with occasional fog; but to persons in the open air, calm
and tolerably dry weather affords absolute enjoyment, especially by
contrast with what we had lately experienced. Our ensigns and pendants
were displayed during the day; and, sincerely as we regretted not having
been able to hoist the British flag in the highest latitude to which we
had aspired, we shall perhaps be excused in having felt some little
pride in being the bearers of it to a parallel considerably beyond that
mentioned in any other well-authenticated record.

At 4.30 P.M. on the 27th, we set out on our return to the southward, and
I can safely say that, dreary and cheerless as were the scenes we were
about to leave, we never turned homeward with so little satisfaction as
on this occasion. To afford a chance of determining the general set of
the current from this latitude, we left upon a hummock of ice a paper,
sewn up in a water-proof canvass bag, and then enclosed in a water-tight
tin canister, giving an account of the place where it was deposited, and
requesting any person who should find it to send it to the secretary of
the admiralty. Nothing worthy of particular notice occurred on this and
the following day, on each of which we travelled eleven hours; finding
the water somewhat more open and the floes less rugged than usual. Two
of these were from two to three miles in length, and in one instance the
surface was sufficiently level to allow us to drag the boats for three
quarters of a mile with the sledges _in tow_. Our latitude, observed at
noon of the 30th, was 82 deg. 20' 37", or twelve miles and a half to the
southward of the preceding day's observation, though we had travelled
only seven by our account; so that the drift of the ice had assisted us
in gaining five miles and a half in that interval.

Setting out to continue our journey at five P.M., we could discover
nothing from a high hummock but the kind of bay-ice before noticed,
except on the floe on which we had slept. The travelling was very
laborious, but we were obliged to go on till we could get to a secure
floe for resting upon, which we could not effect till half past four on
the 31st, when, in eleven hours and a half, we had not made more than
two