At nine P.M. brilliant coruscations of the Aurora Borealis appeared, of a pale ochre colour with a slight tinge of red, in an arched form, crossing the zenith from North-West to South-East, but afterwards they assumed various shapes and had a rapid motion.

On the 5th of August a party of the officers endeavoured to get on one of the larger icebergs, but ineffectually, owing to the steepness and smoothness of its sides and the swell produced by its undulating motion.  This was one of the largest we saw, and Mr. Hood ascertained its height to be one hundred and forty-nine feet; but these masses of ice are frequently magnified to an immense size through the illusive medium of a hazy atmosphere, and on this account their dimensions have often been exaggerated by voyagers.

Perilous situation on the shore of resolution island.

In the morning of the 7th the island of Resolution was indistinctly seen through the haze but was soon afterwards entirely hidden by a very dense fog.  The favourable breeze subsided into a perfect calm and left the ship surrounded by loose ice.  At this time the Eddystone was perceived to be driving with rapidity towards some of the larger masses; the stern-boats of this ship and of the Wear were despatched to assist in towing her clear of them.  At ten a momentary clearness presented the land distinctly at the distance of two miles; the ship was quite unmanageable and under the sole governance of the currents which ran in strong eddies between the masses of ice.  Our consorts were also seen, the Wear being within hail and the Eddystone at a short distance from us.  Two attempts were ineffectually made to gain soundings, and the extreme density of the fog precluded us from any other means of ascertaining the direction in which we were driving until half-past twelve when we had the alarming view of a barren rugged shore within a few yards towering over the mastheads.  Almost instantly afterwards the ship struck violently on a point of rocks projecting from the island; and the ship’s side was brought so near to the shore that poles were prepared to push her off.  This blow displaced the rudder and raised it several inches but it fortunately had been previously confined by tackles.  A gentle swell freed the ship from this perilous situation but the current hurried us along in contact with the rocky shore and the prospect was most alarming.  On the outward bow was perceived a rugged and precipitous cliff whose summit was hid in the fog, and the vessel’s head was pointed towards the bottom of a small bay into which we were rapidly driving.  There now seemed to be no probability of escaping shipwreck, being without wind and having the rudder in its present useless state; the only assistance was that of a boat employed in towing which had been placed in the water between the ship and the shore at the imminent risk of its being crushed.  The ship again struck in passing over a ledge of rocks