amused ourselves in freezing some mercury during the continuance
of this cold weather, and by beating it out on an anvil previously
reduced to the temperature of the atmosphere; it did not appear to
be very malleable when in this state, usually breaking after two
or three blows from the hammer.

The increased length of the day, and the cheering presence of the
sun for several hours above the horizon, induced me, notwithstanding
the severity of the weather, to open the dead-lights of my
stern windows, in order to admit the daylight, of which, in our
occupations below, we had entirely been deprived for more than four
months. I had soon, however, occasion to find that this change was
rather premature, and that I had not rightly calculated on the length
of the winter in Melville Island. The Hecla was fitted with double
windows in her stern, the interval between the two sashes being about
two feet; and within these some curtains of baize had been nailed
close in the early part of the winter. On endeavouring now to remove
the curtains, they were found to be so strongly cemented to the
windows by the frozen vapour collected between them, that it was
necessary to cut them off in order to open the windows; and from the
space between the double sashes we removed more than twelve large
buckets full of ice or frozen vapour, which had accumulated in the
same manner.

About noon on the 16th, a parhelion, faintly prismatic, appeared
on each side of the sun, continuing only for half an hour.
Notwithstanding the low temperature of the external atmosphere,
the officers contrived to act, as usual, the play announced for
this evening; but it must be confessed that it was almost too cold
for either the actors or the audience to enjoy it, especially for