In the year 1608, Henry Hudson was employed in search of a north-east passage; and, in 1610, in a voyage of discovery towards the north-west, in a vessel of fifty-five tons’ burden. It was on this occasion that he discovered the bay which bears his name, hauled his ship on shore in a convenient situation, and wintered there. They fell short of provisions, and the following summer the crew mutinied, and abandoned their captain, his son, and others of the crew, to a most cruel fate. In 1616 was accomplished the remarkable voyage of William Baffin, attended by discoveries of a most extensive nature in the bay which bears his name, which, though regarded with considerable doubt at first, have since been abundantly confirmed by the labours of captain Ross and lieutenant Parry. In March, 1822, the ship Baffin sailed from Liverpool, and reached 80° north latitude without experiencing any frost; on the 27th April, we arrived within ten miles of Spitzbergen, and were stopped in latitude 80° 30′ by main ice. Afterwards, we encountered a most heavy gale, the thermometer falling in the space of sixteen hours 34°, being the most remarkable change I ever experienced in Greenland seas. On the 1st May, we advanced to only five hundred and sixty-six miles’ distance from the Pole, and subsequently discovered the eastern coast of Greenland, a continuation towards the north of the coast on which the ancient Icelandic colonies were planted. We surveyed and named various parts of this coast, to the extent of about eight hundred miles, and found traces of inhabitants. It was inferred that Greenland is probably a great group of islands. The expedition returned on the 18th September, in the same year. CHAPTER II. DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE POLAR COUNTRIES.