ght, but no one thing that could induce us to think
that any land was in our neighbourhood. At eight in the evening a breeze
sprung up at S.E., with which we stood to N.E.
During the night the wind freshened and veered south, which enabled us
to steer east. The wind was attended with showers of sleet and snow till
day-light, when the weather became fair, but piercing cold, so that the
water on deck was frozen, and at noon the mercury in the thermometer was
no higher than 34-1/2. At six o'clock in the morning, the variation was
23' west, being then in the latitude of 58 deg. 15' S., longitude 11 deg. 41' W;
and at six in the evening, being in the same latitude, and in the
longitude of 9 deg. 24' W., it was 1 deg. 51' W. In the evening the wind abated;
and during the night, it was variable between south and west.
Ice-islands continually in sight.
On the 11th, wind westerly, light airs attended with heavy showers of
snow in the morning; but as the day advanced, the weather became fair,
clear, and serene. Still continuing to steer east, at noon we observed
in latitude 58 deg. 11', longitude at the same time 7 deg. 55' west. Thermometer
34-2/3. In the afternoon we had two hours calm; after which we had faint
breezes between the N.E. and S.E.
At six o'clock in the morning of the 12th, being in the latitude of 58 deg.
23' S., longitude 6 deg. 54' W., the variation was 3 deg. 23' west. We had
variable light airs next to a calm all this day, and the weather was
fair and clear till towards the evening, when it became cloudy with
snow-showers, and the air very cold. Ice-islands continually in sight;
most of them small and breaking to pieces.
In the afternoon of the 13th, the wind increased, the sky became
clouded, and soon after we had a very heavy fall of snow, which
continued till eight or nine o'clock in the evening, when the wind
abating and veering to S.E., the sky cleared up, and we had a fair
night, attended with so sharp a frost, that the water in all our vessels
on deck was next morning covered with a sheet of ice. The mercury in the
thermometer was as low as 29 deg., which is 3 deg. below freezing, or rather 4;
for we generally found the water freeze when the mercury stood at 33 deg..
Towards noon on the 14th, the wind veering to the south, increased to a
very strong gale, and blew in heavy squalls attended with snow. At
intervals, between the squalls, the weather was fair and clear, but
exceedingly cold. We con
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