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84 Letters written during the late Voyage of Discovery you, however, some notion of the difference of temperature in the sun at and after noon, and in the shade, I may mention that, by observation of two thermometers, the one in the sun at noon of Saturday the 25th March, stood at 30 degrees above zero, while that in the shade was at 25 degrees below zero. At 1 P. M. sun + 17°, shade — 22°. At 2 P. M. sun + 25°, shade — 22°. At 3 P. M. sun + 21°, shade — 22°. On Sunday the 26‘th, the twilight was very sensible in the northern part of the heavens at midnight ; and we could scarcely persuade ourselves that so little time had passed over us since we were involved in constant dark ness. On the following day a fox was found dead in one of the traps, in all respects resembling the one formerly caught. On the 28th an officer of the Hecla, who had taken a walk on the heights to the westward of the ships, perceived the appear ance of land to the southward, formerly mentioned, still termi nating abruptly in a direction a little to the eastward of south from our position. The repeated recurrence of this appearance really seems to prove land to exist in that quarter, and that it is not the effect of any atmospherical illusion. If the 1st of April be renowned for deception in your part of the world, it has had just the contrary effect in ours. A few weeks ago a party on shore having gone about three miles north ward from the ships found a fiat stone having the letter P cut on it. This letter being evidently the woik of some hand, no small surprise was excited by its discovery, as it intimated that we were not the first visitors of the country. This day the stone was brought on board, and on enquiry among the men of both crews it was discovered that Peter Fisher, one of the party lost with Mr. Fyfe the Greenland master of our ship, in September last, had in his wanderings begun to cut his name on a stone on which he rested himself. The curious part of the business is this, that instead of penetrating to a great distance northwards into the interior of the country, they had wandered upwards of twenty miles eastwardly from the place where they went ashore. That the man should employ himself in such a work in his situation at that time is a true picture of a seaman. When he came on board this ship he amazed us by his fresh appearance and the little concern he felt for the dangers from which he just escaped. As to the manner in which he and his companions had lived while they were lost, “ As for that (said he) the prince himself never lived better; for we had game for breakfast, game for dinner, and game for supper.” Farly one morning in the beginning of April, we witnessed an effect of refraction not uncommon in seas where ice is abun dant. Immediately in contact with the summits of the hum mocks or eminences of ice, appeared the representation of them