We prosecuted our course to the east, inclining to the south, till three o’clock in the afternoon of the 4th, when, (being in the latitude of 60 deg. 37’, longitude 113 deg. 24’) the wind shifting at once to S.W. and S.W. by S., I gave orders to steer E. by N. 1/2 N. But in the night we steered E. 1/2 S. in order to have the wind, which was at S.S.W., more upon the beam, the better to enable us to stand back, in case we fell in with any danger in the dark.  For we had not so much time to spare to allow us to lie-to.

In the morning of the 5th, we steered E. by N., under all the sail we could set, passing one ice island and many small pieces, and at nine o’clock the wind, which of late had not remained long upon any one point, shifted all at once to east, and blew a gentle gale.  With this, we stood to the north, at which time we were in the latitude of 60 deg. 44’ S., and longitude 116 deg. 50’ E. The latitude was determined by the meridian altitude of the sun, which appeared, now and then, for a few minutes, till three in the afternoon.  Indeed the sky was, in general, so cloudy, and the weather so thick and hazy, that we had very little benefit of sun or moon; very seldom seeing the face of either the one or the other.  And yet, even under these circumstances, the weather, for some days past, could not be called very cold.  It, however, had not the least pretension to be called summer weather, according to my ideas of summer in the northern hemisphere, as far as 60 deg. of latitude, which is nearly as far north as I have been.

In the evening we had three islands of ice in sight, all of them large; especially one, which was larger than any we had yet seen.  The side opposed to us seemed to be a mile in extent; if so, it could not be less than three in circuit.  As we passed it in the night, a continual cracking was heard, occasioned, no doubt, by pieces breaking from it.[4] For, in the morning of the 6th, the sea, for some distance round it, was covered with large and small pieces; and the island itself did not appear so large as it had done the evening before.  It could not be less than 100 feet high; yet such was the impetuous force and height of the waves which were broken against it, by meeting with such a sudden resistance, that they rose considerably higher.  In the evening we were in latitude of 59 deg. 58’ S., longitude 118 deg. 39’ E. The 7th, the wind was variable in the N.E. and S.E. quarters, attended with snow and sleet till the evening.  Then the weather became fair, the sky cleared up, and the night was remarkably pleasant, as well as the morning of the next day; which, for the brightness of the sky, and serenity and mildness of the weather, gave place to none we had seen since we left the Cape of Good Hope.  It was such as is little known in this sea; and to make it still more agreeable, we had not one island of ice in sight.  The mercury in the thermometer rose to 40.  Mr Wales and the master made some