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Updated: June 25, 2025
He was compelled to return to England, where he arrived on September 15th, after having discovered an island, which is probably that of Jan Mayen.
The Prince, seeing his great desire to visit the neighbourhood of Jan Mayen, offered to take his schooner in tow of the 'Reine Hortense. It was a fortunate accident for a seeker of maritime adventures; and an hour afterwards, the proposition having been eagerly accepted, the Englishman was attached by two long cables to the stern of our corvette.
I also am a Prussian, and say, like yourself, what care we for the battles of Kunersdorf and Mayen? Frederick the Great will still triumph over his enemies." "Ah, signor, you are a Prussian" cried the host, with a true Italian burst of joy. "You are heartily welcome at my hotel, and be convinced, sir, that I shall do every thing to deserve your approval.
My next letter, please God, will be dated from Hammerfest. I suppose I shall be about fifteen or twenty days getting there, but this will depend on the state of the ice about Jan Mayen. If the anchorage is clear, I shall spend a few days in examining the island, which by all accounts would appear to be most curious.
Our plan at present, after visiting the hot springs, is to return to Reykjavik, and stretch right across the middle of the island to the north coast scarcely ever visited by strangers. Thence we shall sail straight away to Jan Mayen. In pursuance of this arrangement, the first thing to do was to buy some horses.
Within a radius of five hundred leagues to the west I remembered under this parallel of latitude only the imperfectly known volcanoes of the north-east coast of America. To the east there was only one in the 80th degree of north latitude, the Esk in Jan Mayen Island, not far from Spitzbergen! Certainly there was no lack of craters, and there were some capacious enough to throw out a whole army!
About the same period as when the party of Dutch sailors were left at Jan Mayen, a similar experiment was tried in Spitzbergen.
When my eyes had become accustomed to the bright light to which they had been so long strangers, I began to use them to set my imagination right. At least I would have it to be Spitzbergen, and I was in no humour to give up this notion. The Professor was the first to speak, and said: "Well, this is not much like Iceland." "But is it Jan Mayen?" I asked. "Nor that either," he answered.
I happened first to hear of its existence from a very intelligent whaling Captain I fell in with among the Shetlands four years ago. He was sailing home to Hull, after fishing the Spitzbergen waters, and had sighted the huge mountain which forms the northern extremity of Jan Mayen, on his way south.
In such weather, as the original discoverers of Jan Mayen said under similar circumstances, "it was easier to hear land than to see it." Thus, hour after hour passed by and brought no change.
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