had greeted the ears of that crew, and, in reflecting on all that had passed in the interval, they could not but feel devoutly grateful for the mercy which had been Vouchsafed them; and how much was that feeling increased when the wind suddenly changed, and blew a gale off shore, which, but a few hours earlier, must have driven them back to sea, and terminated their labors in a watery grave.

As the ship was gradually sinking, it was run ashore on a small sandy beach. It was found, at low water, that upwards of twenty feet of the keel, together with ten feet of the stern-post, were driven over more than three and a half feet on one side, leaving a frightful opening astern for the free ingress of the water. When the generally shattered state of the ship was seen, every one on board expressed astonishment that she had ever floated across the Atlantic.

The numerous and extensive injuries which this ship had received were not from the shot of an enemy, for she was engaged on one of those services which are far more honorable, glorious, and beneficial to man than war; she had been sent to explore the shores of the Arctic Sea, and to connect the discoveries of those distinguished arctic explorers, Parry, Franklin, Back, and others; but while yet out in the open sea, she was arrested in her course by a premature winter, wedged up by massive ice for nine whole months, subjected to the repeated battering assaults of solid waves of ice; and when, at length, her icy chains dissolved, she was found to be in the battered condition already described, and forced to return without having accomplished the objects of her expedition.

On the 14th June, 1836, the Terror left Chatham, England, and on the 28th July crossed Davies' Strait. Having passed Resolution Island, with its dense fogs and its whirlpools, tossing about masses of ice, sweeping the ship among them, and rendering her unmanageable, they came to the Savage Islands, and here their difficulties may be said fairly to have commenced. The navigation of Hudson's Strait was difficult on account of contrary winds and ice; the drift ice was very heavy, and difficult to steer clear of; and often, in spite of all their care, the ship would drive on the im

mense masses with a concussion that made all the bells ring, and almost threw those below from their chairs.

On the 14th August they arrived close upon Salisbury Island, the place where Back's instructions pointed out the two routes for his choice; and he decided upon that which led in a north-west direction through the Frozen Strait. On the 18th, the ice became so close that there was no room to work the ship. Some experienced seamen, who had been in the Greenland trade, declared they had never beheld such heavy ice. It seemed to consist of numerous floes wedged together, the whole surface so ragged and piled up, that the height of the ridges frequently exceeded fifteen feet; and no human being could have travelled far over it. To those unaccustomed to polar navigation, the prospect was most discouraging, all progress in this direction being apparently stopped; but the more experienced looked forward to a change of wind, tide, or current, or some of those unaccountable circumstances which in a few hours, even of entire calm, create so sudden and marvellous a change in an icy sea. Accordingly, about midnight, some large pieces of ice were observed to be drifting away, and in the course of a few hours a path was opened through what seemed to be an impenetrable barrier. They made, however, but slow progress, constantly struggling with the ice, tacking continually to weather, or to avoid, the floes, and longing for a favorable breeze. The land shone blue from the distance, and beautifully soft, as contrasted with the white cold glare of the intermediate ice around, reflecting, by the setting sun, the tints of the intervening masses thrown into the most picturesque groups and forms, spires, turrets, and pyramids, many in deep shades, presenting, altogether, scenes sufficient for a time to cheat the imagination, and withdraw the mind from the cheerless reality of the actual situation.

Thus delayed almost within sight of port, the season for active operations slipping away, the ship was held still within sight of the same land, "as if it were in the grasp of a giant;" and thus it was destined to be held from this time for eight or ten months to come. Well might Back speak of the name of this

cape as being "most inappropriate;" for, instead of "Comfort," it inspired daily, nay hourly, dread that the ship would be forced ashore.

During the whole of September the ship was whirled about, backwards and forwards, as the wind, or the current, or the tide directed, all command over her being lost. Under these circumstances, it was the opinion of all the officers that any attempt to reach Repulse Bay would be hopeless, and they suggested certain precautions, in the event of the ship breaking up under the enormous pressure to which she was subjected. Some idea of this pressure may be formed from the fact, that in the walls of ice on either side of her, her mould was stamped as perfectly as in a die.

As there was now no chance of escape for eight or nine months to come, it was determined to cut a dock in a large floe of ice, so that the ship might be protected by it, as long as the floe held together. Just as the plan was about to be carried into execution, a commotion took place 'which separated the whole body of ice into single masses, tossed into heaps, or ground to powder, whatever interrupted its course, and finally drove the whole up the Frozen Strait. Other masses, however, succeeded, which hemmed the ship in, and thus both she and they drifted about, often with secure bays and harbors apparently within reach, and still obliged to be prepared for being wrecked. Of course, every attempt to cut a channel through the ice into some bay or harbor would have been vain, on account of the ice not presenting a flat surface, but heaped masses, which filled up every opening as fast as it was made. To add to the discomfort of their situation, the warming apparatus, which ought to have raised the interior of the ship to a comfortable temperature, miserably failed, so that they were reduced to two or three common fires.

The ice continued to be in motion up to the 20th November, but the floe, into which the ship was frozen, remained tolerably secure. Snow walls and galleries were built in different directions from the ship, which, being destined for the comfort of all, were cheerfully undertaken.

As the sailors had abundance of spare time on their hands, an evening school was

instituted under the superintendence of Lieut. Smyth, and occasionally visited by Capt. Back. The example of Parry was also not forgotten in contriving amusements for the men; plays were occasionally acted by the officers; foot-ball was played upon the level surface of the floe when the weather permitted; and a swing was hung from the bowsprit. The festivities of Christmas-day were not forgotten; and New-year's-day was duly ushered in by sound of bell. Still, however, the situation of the ship caused much anxiety, and anxiety fosters disease. The scurvy made its appearance, and this was thought to be aggravated by the fetid and impure atmosphere that lurked in the lower parts of the deck; and the difference of temperature, which frequently amounted to 110 degrees, between the outside and the inside of the ship.

The floe,,which had hitherto served to give some security to the ship, as well as a place of exercise for the men, at length began to crack and to open rents, thereby giving freedom to large masses of ice, yellow and brown with age, which darted to the surface, looking like unsightly blotches on the pale features of the general scene. On the 17th February, an alarm was given that the floe was breaking up alongside, and, in fact, a rent opened from the stern of the ship to the edge of the floe, and another from the bow to the east brink. Gaping rents were made in the snow walls about the ship; a crashing, grinding, and rushing noise was heard beneath, as well as at the borders of the floe, and fresh cracks opened in it. The ship creaked in her beams and timbers, and at daylight, to the dismay of all, an advancing rampart of ice, about thirty feet in height, of a semicircular form, was seen rolling to seaward, in one vast body. All around, enormous calves of ice escaped from confinement, and, being tossed up in irregular positions, looked like so many engines of destruction. But, just when the danger seemed greatest, the tumult suddenly ceased; and it was fortunate that it did so, for the ice was so splintered and jagged, that to put a boat upon it was out of the question; nor could it be made, even for an hour, a depository of provisions, full as it was of cracks and small holes opening every instant; nothing