The reader, it may be presumed, has enough of this subject.—­E.

[2] “At noon, on the 10th December, we had reached the latitude of 59 deg.  S., without having met with any ice, though we fell in with it the preceding year on the 10th December, between the 50th and 51st degree of south latitude.  It is difficult to account for this difference; perhaps a severe winter preceding our first course from the Cape of Good Hope, might accumulate more ice that year than the next, which is the more probable, as we learnt at the Cape that the winter had been sharper there than usual; perhaps a violent storm might break the polar ice, and drive it so far to the northward as we found it; and, perhaps, both these causes might concur with others, to produce this effect.”—­G.F.

“It is remarkable, that in different years, seasons, and places of the sea, we found the ice differently situated.  In the year 1772, December 10th, we saw the ice between 50 deg. and 51 deg. of southern latitude.  In 1773, on December 12th, we found the first ice in 62 deg.  S. In 1775, on January 27th, we saw the ice in about 60 deg.  S. On February 24th, we came to the same place, where, about twenty-six months before, we had met with such an impenetrable body of ice, as had obliged us to run to the east, but where, at this last time, no vestige of it appeared, no more than at the place where Bouvet had placed his Cape Circumcision, we having sailed over the whole tract which he suspected to be land; nor could we be mistaken in its situation, as we had been on the same parallel for a considerable time; so that it is impossible to have missed the land, if any had existed, as we had frequent opportunities to ascertain our latitude.”—­F.

    It is well known, that considerable masses of ice have been met with
    as low down as 46 deg. of south latitude; but hitherto no very
    satisfactory solution has been given of the phenomenon.—­E.

[3] “Our friend Mahine had already expressed his surprise at several little snow and hail showers on the preceding days, this phenomenon being utterly unknown in his country.  The appearances of “white stones,” which melted in his hand, was altogether miraculous in his eyes, and though we endeavoured to explain to him that cold was the cause of their formation, yet I believe his ideas on that subject were never very clear.  A heavy fall of snow surprised him more than what he had seen before, and after a long consideration of its singular qualities, he told us he would call it the white rain when be came back to his country.  He did not see the first ice, on account of the early hour in the morning; but two days after, in about 65 deg.  S., he was struck with astonishment upon seeing one of the largest pieces, and the day following presented him with an extensive field of ice, which blocked up our farther progress to the south, and gave him great pleasure, supposing it to be land,