in a south-easterly direction.  As the wind could now be felt over the rocks, the foretopsail was set, as well as the lower sails, the latter being mainly becalmed, however, by the land; when the people were all taken on board, the craft moving faster under her canvass than by means of the hauling lines.  The wind was very fresh, and in half an hour more the south-east cape came in sight, close as were the navigators to the rocks.  Ten minutes later, the Sea Lion was under reefed sails, stretching off to the southward and eastward, in perfectly clear water!

At first, Roswell Gardiner was disposed to rejoice, under the impression that his greatest labour had been achieved.  A better look at the state of things around him, however, taught the disheartening lesson of humility, by demonstrating that they had in truth but just commenced.

Although there was scarcely any field-ice to the southward of the group, and in its immediate neighbourhood, there was a countless number of bergs.  It is true, these floating mountains did not come very near the passage, for the depth of water just there usually brought them up ere they could get into it; nevertheless, a large fleet of them was blockading the entire group, far as the eye could reach, looking east, west and south, or along the whole line of the southern coast.  It was at first questionable whether, and soon after it became certain, that the schooner could never beat through such dangers.  Had the wind been fair, the difficulty would have been insurmountable; but ahead, and blowing a little gale, the matter was out of the question.  Some other course must be adopted.

There was a choice of alternatives.  One was to go entirely round the whole group, passing to the eastward of the volcano, where no one of the party had ever been; and the other was to follow the eastern margin of the bay, keeping inside of it, and trusting to finding some opening by which the schooner could force her way into clear water to the northward.  After a very brief consultation with his mates, Roswell decided on attempting the last.

As the course now to be steered was almost dead before the wind, the little craft, lightened of so much of her upper works, almost flew through the water.  The great source of apprehension felt by our young men in attempting this new expedient, was in the probability that the field would drift home to the rocks in the north-east quarter of the bay, which, with a south-west wind, was necessarily a quarter to leeward.  Should this prove to be the case, it might be found impossible to pass ahead, and the schooner would be caught in a cul de sac; since it would not be in the power of her people to track her back again in the teeth of so strong a wind.  Notwithstanding these probabilities, on Roswell went; for he saw plain enough that at such a moment almost anything was better than indecision.

The rate at which the little craft was flying before a fresh gale, in perfectly smooth water, soon put our sealers in a better condition to form closer estimates of their chances.  The look-outs aloft, one of whom was Hazard, the first officer, sent down on deck constant reports of what they could see.