460 Tghene dat eyselijck scheen noch eyselijcker—that which was frightful appeared more frightful. ↑
465 We have here a remarkable instance of what might be called “cooking”, were it not that everything is done in perfect good faith, and that [158]the means are afforded us of rectifying the error into which the observer fell through the desire to establish his preconceived idea, founded on the supposed results of his observations of December 14th and January 12th (See pages 131 and 140), that the latitude of the place of observation was to the north of 76°.
It is quite true that, as the sun’s lower edge was observed, its semi-diameter has to be added. But the effect of this is to increase, not the height of the Pole, but its complement; which, adopting the observer’s own figures, would be 14° 16′ + 16′ = 14° 32′, so that the height of the Pole would be only 75° 28′. There is, however, another correction to be made, namely, for refraction, of which at that early period no account was taken; and this being as much as 15′,1, the discrepancy is thereby so much reduced. The correct calculation of the observation will therefore be as follows:—
| Sun’s lower edge | 3° | 0′ | |
| Sun’s,, semi-diameter | 16 | ||
| ——— | |||
| 3 | 16 | ||
| Refraction | 15,1 | ||
| ——— | |||
| True altitude of sun’s centre | 3 | 0,9 | |
| Sun’s declination | — | 11 | 15 |
| ———— | |||
| Complement of height of Pole | 14 | 15,9 | |
| ———— | |||
| Latitude | 75° | 44,1 | |
Which differs only 1′5 from the mean of the two observations of the 14th December and 12th January. ↑
468 Uytet wout—out of the wood. The French say, “la faim chasse le loup hors du bois”; and in several other languages it is the same. In English the corresponding expression is, “hunger will break through stone walls.” See National Proverbs, etc., by Caroline Ward, p. 62. ↑
479 With 7′,5 for refraction, and—7° 10′,8 for the sun’s declination, the above observation gives 76° 8′,7 for the height of the Pole. If no allowance was made at the time for the sun’s semi-diameter, 16′ will have to be deducted, which will make the true latitude to be 75° 52′,7. ↑
486 There is little doubt of their having actually seen the country round the estuaries of the rivers Obi and Yenisei. Lütke says (p. 42) that “the distance of the two countries from one another is not known exactly, but there is reason for believing it to be less than 120 Italian miles. That the Hollanders really saw Siberia, and not (as some imagine) the Island of Maksimok, is corroborated by the tradition, which is mentioned even by Witsen (pp. 762, 897, 922), that at times Novaya Zemlya is, in like manner, seen from the Siberian coast.” ↑
488 Here, as before, the correct result will be (refraction 5′,1; declination—3° 41′,6) 76° 4′,5; or, deducting 16′ for the sun’s semi-diameter, 75° 48′,5. ↑
498 Also dat goet raedt doen duer was—so that then good advice was dear. This is a proverbial saying; the meaning of which is, that, as they did not know what to do, good advice would have been very valuable. ↑
499 If we assume the smaller amount of error to be the more probable, we must regard this observation as having been made on the 20th of March, instead of the 21st. The observer found the sun’s altitude to be 14°, believing it to be then on the equinoctial, and therefore without declination. But at mean noon in Novaya Zemlya, the sun’s declination on March 20th was—0° 8′,8, and on March 21st + 0° 14′,9, the sun having crossed the equinoctial between 10 and 11 o’clock of the intervening night. The corrected calculation for both days will therefore be as follows:—
| March 20th. | March 21st. | ||||||
| Altitude of the sun | 14° | 0′ | 14° | 0′ | |||
| Refraction | 3,8 | 3,8 | |||||
| ————— | ————— | ||||||
| 13 | 56,2 | 13 | 56,2 | ||||
| Sun’s declination | — | 8,8 | + | 14,9 | |||
| ————— | ————— | ||||||
| Complement | φ | 14 | 5 | 13 | 41,3 | ||
| ————— | ————— | ||||||
| φ | 75° | 55′ | 76° | 8′,7 | |||
| ————— | ————— | ||||||
| Or, deduct. the sun’s semi-diam. | 75° | 36′ | 75° | 52′,7 | |||
500 Van vilten ofte ruyghe hoeden—of felt, or rough hats. It is probable that these were sheets of the rough material, which they had for use among the ship’s stores. ↑
502 Als of de Maert haer foy hadde willen besetten—as if March (before leaving them) had meant to pay them off—lit. to give them their fee. ↑
504 Dat de coude so fel alse was, niet altijt dueren soude—that the cold, severe as it was, would not last for ever. ↑
506 Met helle bittere koude—with a clear sharp cold. The author is not open to the reproach of having, in the whole course of his narrative, made use of such an expression as that which the translator has here erroneously attributed to him. ↑
513 On April 2nd at mean noon, Novaya Zemlya, the sun’s declination was + 4° 56′,8, which, with the observed height (corrected for refraction = 18° 37′,2), would give 76° 19′,5 as the latitude; or, deducting 16′ for the sun’s semi-diameter, 76° 3′,5. It is, however, not unlikely that the observation was made on April 1st, when indeed the sun’s declination was + 4° 40′ at mean noon at Venice, though at mean noon at the place of observation (about four hours earlier) it was only 4° 33′,6. In this case, the latitude would be 75° 56′,4; or 75° 40′,4, if the sun’s lower edge was observed. ↑
514 Een colf om daer mede te colven—literally, “a colf to colve with.” The well-known game of colf or golf derives its name from the hooked stick or club (German, kolbe; Dutch, colf or kolf) with which it is played. A detailed description of the game, as played in Holland, is given in Sir John Sinclair’s Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xvi, p. 28, note. See also Jameson’s Scottish Dict., art. Golf. ↑
515 Deur dattet damper weer ende teruijt vochtich was—because it was damp weather and the powder moist. ↑
519 The house was covered with a sail, on which was placed shingle from the beach, to keep it weather tight, as is described in page 119. ↑
527 The declination here given is that of April 19th. The corrected calculation for the 18th, with refraction 2′,0 and declination + 10° 50′,1, gives 75° 42,1; or 75° 26′,1, if the sun’s semi-diameter has to be deducted. On April 19th, the declination was + 11° 10′,1, whereby the height of the Pole would be 76° 2′,1; or, deducting the sun’s semi-diameter, 75° 46′1. ↑
531 There is an omission here in the original. The following words require to be supplied:—“which substracted from the said elevation, there rested 14 degrees.” ↑
532 With the sun’s declination + 14° 8′,7, and refraction 1′8, the corrected calculation will give 76° 2′,5; or, deducting 16′ for the sun’s semi-diameter, 75° 46′,5. ↑
534 Opt hooghste was. An oversight of the author. He meant to say that the sun was on the meridian in the north; where, of course, it must have been at the lowest, instead of the highest. ↑
535 Had the latitude of the place of observation been really more than 76° the sun ought to have been visible above the horizon at midnight on the 28th April, as its declination was then already more than 14°; and as on the 30th April its declination was 14° 55′, it ought to have had its lower edge full 39′ above the horizon at the time when at the place of observation it is said to have been visible “just above the horizon”. This is without taking into account the refraction, which under ordinary circumstances, would have made its visible altitude about 36′ more. Hence it is quite clear that they were not so far north as 76°. ↑
537 Maer hadt maer een manghel, dattet niet langher deuren wilde—only it had but one fault, which was, that it would not last any longer. Whenever a joke is intended by the author,—who, although a serious, matter-of-fact Dutchman, was evidently a bit of a wag,—it is, by some fatality, sure to be spoilt by the translator. ↑
539 Ende also de beste spijs, als vleysch ende grutten ende anders, ons ontbrack—and as our best food, such as beef, barley, and such like, failed us. Gort or grutten, for porridge, form an important item in the supplies of Dutch seamen. When the Dutch whale-fishery was in a more flourishing state, the sailors of the vessels employed in it used to be saluted by the boys in the streets of Amsterdam with the cry of—Traan-bok! Stroop in je gort tot Pampus toe.—“Train-oil Billy! Treacle in your porridge as far as Pampus;” meaning, that after they had passed Pampus (see page 13, note 5), which is only two hours from Amsterdam, they would, during the rest of the voyage, get their porridge without treacle. ↑