Page:A Voyage of Discovery and Research in the Southern and Antarctic Regions Vol 2.djvu/190

166 corrections we applied to those taken on board our ship remained unchanged, and if not, to afford the means of deducing accurate corrections.

There was a gentle swell from the westward, which kept the instruments in motion, not sufficient, however, to vitiate the observations in the slightest degree; and the wind having died away, so that a perfect calm prevailed, an extensive and satisfactory series was obtained, which gave equally satisfactory results: the magnetic dip was found to be 79º 39′.5 S., and the variation 25º 15′ East.

During the night the swell from the westward greatly increased, and the pack being quite close and heavy, our ships sustained at times some severe blows from the ice, while the rapidly descending barometer warned us of an approaching gale.

Towards the evening the sea had gained such a height, that our eight-inch hawsers were not strong enough to hold us to the heavy floe—snapping one after the other so fast that we had scarcely time to replace them with ropes of larger size; the wind had increased to a gale from the north-eastward, and blew violently throughout the night and during the forenoon of the next day, but it had the effect of subduing the westerly swell, and of driving us towards the south-west water.

A dense fog prevailed, and the snow, which fell thickly, was converted into rain by the temperature