[Illustration: Portrait, not captioned] A VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN; CONTAINING AN Account of that Country, OF THE ZOOLOGY OF THE NORTH; OF THE SHETLAND ISLES; AND OF THE WHALE FISHERY. WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING An Historical Account of the DUTCH, ENGLISH, and AMERICAN WHALE FISHERIES; some Important Observations on the VARIATION OF THE COMPASS, &c.; and some Extracts from Mr. SCORESBY’S Paper on “POLAR ICE.” BY JOHN LAING, SURGEON. _A NEW EDITION._ EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1825. PRINTED BY A. BALFOUR & CO. TO JOHN R. M’CULLOCH, ESQ. THIS LITTLE WORK IS INSCRIBED, AS A SMALL TESTIMONY OF THE ESTEEM AND GRATITUDE OF HIS MUCH OBLIGED, AND SINCERE FRIEND, THE AUTHOR. ADVERTISEMENT. _The Journal I kept when on board the Resolution in 1806, is taken as the basis of the subsequent little Work. It may, however, be looked upon as containing the observations I made both in 1806 and 1807, as I have engrossed into the Narration whatever I observed of consequence the following year._ [Illustration: DIAGRAM _of the_ ARCTIC REGIONS. _L. Schonberg’s Lithog._] ACCOUNT OF A VOYAGE TO SPITZBERGEN. In the year 1806, being at the University of Edinburgh, an advertisement was put on the College Gate, by Messrs. P. and C. Wood, merchants, Leith, intimating that a surgeon was wanted for the ship Resolution of Whitby, Yorkshire, engaged in the North Sea whale-fishery. Impelled by curiosity, and by a still more powerful motive, to visit the snow-clad coast of Spitzbergen, I applied; and was, after due examination, admitted surgeon for the voyage. Nothing particular occurred on my journey from this to Whitby, where I arrived on Sunday the 16th of March, and was, in every respect, comfortably accommodated at the house of the Captain. As we did not sail for several days after my arrival, I spent a considerable part of my time in making such remarks on the town as were particularly interesting.