appear for some hours during the night, a circumstance which at- tracted the Lieutenant's attention, for reasons which we will explain.
That part of the shore to the west of Cape Bathurst rises but a few inches above the level of the sea, and the tides are—or are said to be—very high in the Arctic Ocean—many navigators, such as Parry, Franklin, the two Rosses, M'Clure, and M'Clintock, having observed that when the sun and moon were in conjunction the waters were sometimes twenty-five feet above the ordinary level How then was it to be explained that the sea did not at high tide inundate Cape Bathurst, which possessed no natural defences such as cliffs or downs? What was it, in fact, which prevented the entire submersion of the whole district, and the meeting of the waters of the lake with those of the Arctic Ocean?
Jaspar Hobson could not refrain from remarking on this peculiarity to Mrs Barnett, who replied somewhat hastily that she supposed that there were—in spite of all that had been said to the contrary—no tides in the Arctic Ocean.
"On the contrary, madam," said Hobson, "all navigators agree that the ebb and flow of Polar seas are very distinctly marked, and it is impossible to believe that they can have been mistaken on such a subject."
"How is it, then," inquired Mrs Barnett, "that this land is not flooded when it is scarcely ten feet above the sea level at low tide?"
"That is just what puzzles me," said Hobson; "for I have been attentively watching the tides all through this month, and during that time they have not varied more than a foot, and I feel certain, that even during the September equinox, they will not rise more than a foot and a half all along the shores of Cape Bathurst."
"Can you not explain this phenomenon?" inquired Mrs Barnett.
"Well, madam," replied the Lieutenant, "two conclusions are open to us, either of which I find it difficult to believe; such men as Franklin, Parry, Boss, and others, are mistaken, and there are no tides on this part of the American coast; or, as in the Mediterranean, to which the waters of the Atlantic have not free ingress, the straits are too narrow to be affected by the ocean currents."
"The latter would appear to be the more reasonable hypothesis, Mr Hobson."
"It is not, however, thoroughly satisfactory," said the Lieutenant,
