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thick and closely packed they seem to us to throw off the shot. His beautifully white breast and glossy black plumage greatly interested us, but for lack of the requisite materials for preserving the skins, we were unable to bring back specimens. The sailors enjoyed the flesh of these birds, but our cook did not give us the opportunity of testing its gastronomic qualifications. At 6 P.M. the fog lifted, and we had a fine view of Mount Beerenberg, bearing S.W. S., at a distance of about eighty miles; the wind was from south-west, and the weather fine. Running with a light breeze along the edge of the floe in the fog on the 8th of June, the ice itself trending towards the north-east, we find ourselves suddenly surrounded by a large shoal of seals; they, too, are racing north, and, as they go, they turn inquisitive looks upon us, and then dash off into the wildest games ever contemplated by boys suddenly released from school, plunging head foremost into the waves; the young and old together rearing themselves half out of the water in their mad gambols, whilst a man seated aloft in the "crow's-nest" keeps constant watch upon their movements, in the hope that the herds, growing weary of play, will betake themselves to the snowcovered ice, where they seem to enjoy the warm rays of the sun, as they roll over and over, and

gradually subside into a restless sleep, disturbed by the thought of hungry bears, ever on the watch for food, or the still more merciless seal-fisher, their more deadly foe. Now a small family party are seen to approach the ice, and after some preliminary investigations, they proceed to land. In a few minutes they are evidently in full enjoyment of their temporary rest; they lie stretched in the sun. A boat is lowered with great circumspection, and after a time the rapid report of fire-arms tells plainly that the seal-hunting has commenced in earnest— the fog is too heavy to enable us to see with what result; but the other boats are soon ready, and, taking with us a compass to find the bearings of the ship, which is only seen occasionally as the fog lifts for a moment, we push off in the direction of the firing party. A bullet whizzes over our heads in dangerous proximity as we pull up, warning us that the sport is not without its dangers. All is excitement now, and we sit prepared for action. There! the great head of a seal rises above the water close to the boat. We fire, and miss what might seem an easy chance; but the motion of the boat, always uncertain, renders the shooting of one not expert by practice, anything but reliable. Now the boat is surrounded with the seals, all eagerly gazing at the hunter, but

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the hunter is not prepared, and before he is ready for their reception, they have vanished out of sight, like the spectre forms seen in some troubled dream.

These seals rise to the surface of the water unexpectedly, without making the slightest ripple, or so quietly that they seem to appear by magic; and when frightened they sink out of sight in the same imperceptible fashion, without warning of any kind. Slowly and gradually they sink, in the most tiresome and tantalising manner, while you are trying to fix the sights of your rifle in the very unsteady boat. The thought that they must be hit fair in the head is an additional reason for being nervous; in our opinion it is the most difficult description of shooting a sportsman can have.

The steersman detects four fine beasts upon a block of floating ice, in the distance. The crew give way with a will, and as the boat comes just within the desired range, and we are about to single out the largest among them, they suddenly disappear, diving over the edge of the floe with a graceful ease, to see which almost repays one's disappointment and chagrin.

Later on in the day the anxiety to shoot, often caused the crew to be utterly careless in their management of the fire-arms and ammunition entrusted to

them. On one occasion we were fortunately in time to prevent actual mischief being done. A fellow armed with a rifle caught sight of a seal between us and another boat, at some little distance from us. He was about to fire at the seal, and in the direction of the boat, when the bullet might have passed between two of the crew on board; we were just in time to throw up his arm at the very moment he was about to pull the trigger. The man declared his object was to avoid injuring his friends, as the bullet would have passed between them!! It was impossible to argue with so keen a sportsman. Forcible measures were the only means of securing proper caution in order to avoid some fatal accident.

We have witnessed on many previous occasions the same reckless disregard to common prudence on the part of our sailors; but strange to say we have no recollection of any disaster happening to themselves or the bystanders.

Looking round we find ourselves in close proximity to the other boats, and hasten to inquire what sort of sport they have had. For old hands the result was poor: one crew had bagged three, the other seven seals.

Leaving the boat and landing on the ice at a point close by, we cautiously advance, creeping over the

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snow towards some hummocks, for beyond them a small batch of seals are seen basking in the sun. We take steady aim, and a large seal falls to our gun. A second shot seems to add speed to the flight of another beast close by, and as he in mad haste tries to reach the water, he receives three bullets in his tough hide, all to no effect. The seal, unless struck in some vital place—the head, or behind the flipper at a point directly over the heart, seems indifferent to the shock of a bullet; his great shapeless form covered with thick layers of fat offers no other definite or decided mark for the sportsman, if the head or heart are missed. Preparations are quickly made for flencing our seal, but the body is lying on a detached piece of ice which must be reached by using a smaller block as a raft to float us over. We are now more cautious on the ice than on the previous occasion, and a haakpick is a valuable aid in testing the qualities of the floor beneath us. The seal is turned on its back, and a long cut is made from the head to its tail, a cut round each flipper, and a few more to detach the blubber from the "krang," then the operation of flensing is soon completed. This operation, owing to the temperature of the air in these high latitudes, is a most sickening sight to contemplate, as the quivering flesh seems still to be

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