This Arctic scene causes our captain and his
officers to look rather serious, and they mount at times to the
fore-topgallant mast. Did we but know the dangers which beset us
through yielding to the allurements of the world, how often would we
also mount aloft, and get upon, our watch-tower and look out!
"You will naturally ask, How far did the ice reach? We were fourteen
hours cutting through it, passing sixty vessels and two steamers
(many of them fixtures), signalling those we came near. It was
touching to see a barque make efforts to get into our opened-up
pathway, but she could not make the short distance to reach the
cleared waters. Those who watched throughout that long day as we
triumphantly, though slowly, broke our ice-girt way, saw seals
between the fields of ice, porpoises and whales spouting and bounding
in their glorious freedom, sea-gulls and small red birds flying about.
"Our little fellows were constructing allegories after the fashion
of their last course of lessons on Banyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress.' The
ice field, they said, was like Satan, and the ship was like
Christian; and thus they went on, as they sat looking over the
bulwarks at the ice which so hindered our progress.
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