On the 10th, the wind springing up, in the morning, to north north-east, they set all the sail they could, and forced through a great deal of very heavy ice.  The ships, it is true, often struck excessively hard; and the Racehorse, with one stroke, broke the shank of the best bower anchor; but, about noon, they had the unspeakable happiness to get through all the ice, and were safely out at sea.

Accordingly, on the 11th, they came to an anchor in the harbour of Smeerenberg, where they were comfortably refreshed after their dreadful fatigues.  The island where they lay is called Amsterdam Island, the westernmost point of which is Hacluyt’s Headland.  Here the Dutch once attempted to make an establishment, by leaving some people to winter, who all perished.  The Dutch, however, still resort thither for the latter season of the whale-fishery; and it afforded a very excellent retreat to our adventurers, who remained there till the 20th.

After this, they made a few feeble attempts, but they were without hope of being able to penetrate farther.  The summer had proved uncommonly favourable for the purpose; and, having enjoyed the fullest opportunity of repeatedly ascertaining the situation of that wall of ice which extends for more than twenty degrees, between the latitudes of eighty and eighty-one, without the smallest appearance of any opening, they were sufficiently satisfied of the impracticability of effecting any passage to the Pacific Ocean, and agreed on immediately returning to England.

In steering to the southward, they soon found the weather grow more mild; or, rather, as Captain Phipps expresses it, to their feelings, warm.

On the 24th of August, they perceived Jupiter; and the sight of a star was now become almost as extraordinary a phenomenon to them, as the sun at midnight had appeared on their first getting within the Arctic circle.  For some part of their voyage back, the weather was very fine; but, from the 7th of September, when they were off Shetland, till the 24th, when they made Orfordness, they had hard gales of wind, with little intermission.  In one of these violent gales, accompanied by a heavy sea, they lost three of their boats, and were obliged to throw two guns overboard.

Thus ended this famous voyage; happily, without the loss of a single person:  and which was so far successful, at least, in accomplishing it’s object, that it seems to have satisfactorily negatived the long-agitated question concerning the practicability of a north-east passage into the Pacific Ocean.  Perhaps, however, the increasing civilization of nations who are nearer neighbours, may awaken the spirit of enterprise in some hardy bosom, and conduct a new adventurer farther over the vast plains of ice descried from the mountains on this occasion, by means of sledges, &c. as well as boats, both properly prepared and furnished, than it has ever yet been penetrated, or is ever likely to be penetrated, by ships and their customary boats