the sea as smooth as a mirror, we set off without delay, at half past ten, taking our final leave of the Spitzbergen shores, as we hoped, for at least two months.  Steering due north, we made good progress, our latitude by the sun’s meridian altitude at midnight being 80 deg. 51’ 13”.  A beautifully-coloured rainbow appeared for some time, without any appearance of rain falling.  We observed that a considerable current was setting us to the eastward just after leaving the land, so that we had made a N.N.E. course, distance about ten miles, when we met with some ice, which soon becoming too close for farther progress, we landed upon a high hummock to obtain a better view.  We here perceived that the ice was close to the northward, but to the westward we discovered some open water, which we reached after two or three hours’ paddling, and found it a wide expanse, in which we sailed to the northward without obstruction, a fresh breeze having sprung up from the S.W.  The weather soon after became very thick, with continued snow, requiring great care in looking out for the ice, which made its appearance after two hours’ run, and gradually became closer, till at length we were stopped by it at noon, and obliged to haul the boats upon a small floe-piece, our latitude by observation being 81 deg. 12’ 51”.

Our plan of travelling being nearly the same throughout this excursion, after we first entered upon the ice, I may at once give some account of our usual mode of proceeding.  It was my intention to travel wholly at night, and to rest by day, there being, of course, constant daylight in these regions during the summer season.  The advantages of this plan, which was occasionally deranged by circumstances, consisted, first, in our avoiding the intense and oppressive glare from the snow during the time of the sun’s greatest altitude, so as to prevent, in some degree, the painful inflammation in the eyes called “snow blindness,” which is common in all snowy countries.  We also thus enjoyed greater warmth during the hours of rest, and had a better chance of drying our clothes; besides which, no small advantage was derived from the snow being harder at night for travelling.  The only disadvantage of this plan was, that the fogs were somewhat more thick by night than by day, though even in this respect there was less difference than might have been supposed, the temperature during the twenty-four hours undergoing but little variation.  This travelling by night and sleeping by day so completely inverted the natural order of things, that it was difficult to persuade ourselves of the reality.  Even the officers and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chronometers, could not always bear in mind at what part of the twenty-four hours we had arrived; and there were several of the men who declared, and I believe truly, that they, never knew night from day during the whole excursion.[020]