seven inches. At a quarter past three on the third day, they tracked the ships through this canal into winter quarters, an event which was commemorated by three hearty cheers. Here then they were to remain for at least eight months; during three of which a glimpse of the sun would not be visible; and it be came immediately necessary to comLuence preparations for meeting this new and extraordinary situation. Not a moment was lost in the commencement of their operations. The masts were all dismantled, except the lower ones; and a kind of housing was formed on deck by lashing the yards fore and aft amidships, and supporting them by upright planks, over all of which, a thick waddingtilt, such as usually covers waggons, was thrown by way of roof, and formed a comfortable shelter, at least trom the snow and wind. The boats, spars, running sails, and rigging, were all removed to the land, in order to afford the crews room for exercising on deck, whenever the inclemency of the weather prevented their going ashore. The next consideration was the preservation of the health of the crews during this trying period. The difficulty of keeping the bed-places dry, may be gathered from the fact of a crust of ice forming every night of more or less thickness, according to the temperature of the atmosphere, on the inner partition of all sides of the vessel. The steam arising from their brewing was so annoying, that, valuable an anti-scorbutic as beer was, they were obliged to discontinue their brewery. The cold was obviated by means of heated airpipes; and a strict attention to diet, except in one instance, effectually counteracted the scurvy. The men were obliged to drink a certain proportion of lime-juice, sugar, and water, every day, in the presence of an officer. The allowance of bread was diminished to two thirds; and a pound of Donkin's preserved meat, together with one pint of vegetable or concentrated soup, was substituted for one pound of salt beef weekly. Sour krout and pickles, with as much vinegar as could be used, were issued at regular intervals. The men were carefully mustered every morning and evening, and a medical inspection of them took place once a week, Captain Parry himself examined the beds every day; and when the crews could not exercise on shore, they were obliged to run on deck for several hours, keeping time to some merry tune. The consequence of these very judicious arrangements was, that only one instance of mortality occurred during the entire expedition; and that was hastened, if not altogether created, by predisposing causes. Placed in this novel and awful situation, Captain Parry proposed the erection of a theatre on deck, and that performances should take place during the winter a proposition which was gratefully acceded to; and accordingly, on the 5th of November, sailors, officers, and commander, all appeared in Miss in her Teens, to the great satisfaction, as the play-bills would express it, of a crowded and delighted audience. A weekly newspaper, called the North Georgia Gazette, was also actually composed and printed on board, the officers becoming voluntary contributors, and Captain Sabine acting as Editor. We are a little jealous that it was not a Magazine; but it must be confessed, that the establishment of a newspaper was a tempting speculation, where there was neither a stampoffice, nor an Attorney-General. The effects of the cold were most distressing: the least exposure of the hand in the open air, caused such severe frost-bites, that amputation became sometimes unavoidable, and the skin generally adhered to any metallic substance with which it came in contact! In one or two instances, persons labouring under the consequences of severe cold seemed to have had their minds, as well as their persons torpified; they looked wild, spoke thick, and inarticulately; and, when recovering, exhibited all the symptoms of complete intoxication; so much so, indeed, that Captain Parry could not have credited that they were sober, if he had not perfect demonstration that they had taken nothing stronger than snow water. On the 4th of November, the sun bade them farewell, and did not appear again above their horizon, till the 8th of February, an interval of ninety-six days! The North Georgia Gazette, which is now in the London press, the theatre once a fortnight, the Aurora Borealis at times, and the howling of wolves, trapping of white foxes, and tracing of wild deer, were their principal occupations. We find that there were not only political, but dramatic authors on board; for a play was actually written on board the Hecla, and played, with the thermometer below Zero, on the stage. The piece had decided success; though we apprehend there was not much clapping of hands during its performance. The wearing of leather on the feet even caused such frost-bites, that the Captain was obliged to substitute a kind of canvass boot, lined with woollen. During their refuge in winter quarters, they formed a number of hunting parties, and obtained by that means, not only some amusement, but a considerable supply of fresh provisions. The following is a list of the game killed on the shores of Melville Island, for the use of the expedition, during a period of twelve months: Three musk oxen, twentyfour deer, sixty-eight hares, fiftythree geese, fifty-nine ducks, 144 ptarmigans, making a sum total of 3,766 lb. of fresh meat. Captain Parry, also, by artificial means, contrived to grow some small sallads on board the vessel; but his seeds all perished in soil to which vegetation seems to have sworn eternal hostility. By the bye, it is very plain that our gallant author has hunted after game much more by sea than land, from the circumstance of his always calling a pack of grouse, a covey. It is very remarkable, that some of their dogs formed a very close, and even tender acquaintance, with the wolves on Melville Island, so much so, as to stay away for days and nights from the ship, and only one was lost; but whether he was a voluntary exile, or whether he was devoured by the male wolves, remains a problem: the latter, we fear, was the case, from the circumstance of one of the captain's own favourites returning, after a long visit, severely lacerated. Some of the animals in these regions appear, indeed, to have been remarkably tame; and there is a very entertaining account given by Captain Parry, of his forming an acquaintance with a rein-deer, in his excursion across Melville Island. Captain Sabine and he, having been considerably a-head of the rest of the party, sat down to wait for them, when a fine deer came up, and began to gambol round. them, at a distance of thirty yards. They had no gun; and at all events considered that hostility would have been but a bad return for the confidence reposed in them. When the rest of the party appeared, the deer ran to pay them a visit; but they being less scrupulous, fired two shots at him without effect, when he returned again to Captain Parry even nearer than before, accompanying him, and trotting round him like a dog, until the rest of the party came up; upon which, with much good sense, he disappeared. We are sorry we have not room to detail Captain Parry's account of his tour through Melville Island, which possesses considerable interest. They collected some specimens of mineralogy; and, amongst others, a piece of fossil wood;saw abundance of sorrel and saxifrage; and in many places, a great deal of grass and poppies. The whole island bore evident marks of being frequented much by game; and, from the marks in several places, seemed to abound in musk oxen, deer, hares, foxes, grouse, plover, geese, and ptarmigan. The wolves appear to prey upon the foxes; and a beautiful little white one, which was caught in a trap near the Hecla, showed evident symptoms of alarm when it heard their howl. The month of July turning out very favourable, the ice began gradually to disappear; and on the 1st of August, the ships took their departure from Winter Harbour, where they had lain for very near twelve months. Even after leaving this, they were terribly impeded by the ice; and the Captain called a council of the officers, to have their advice upon his future operations. They all agreed that it would be most wise to run a little along the edge of the ice to the eastward, in the hope of finding an opening to lead to the American continent; and, if this should fail, that then they should, after a reasonable time spent in the search, return to England. This return was rendered doubly necessary, as the exhaustion of their principal antiscor 646 butic, and the diminution of their a jumping gesture, which was more or less violent, according to the powers of the jumper. They went down into the cabin; and the old gentleman was persuaded to sit for his picture to Lieutenant Beechey, which he did very quietly for more than an hour; but after that, it seems to have required all the pantomime rhetoric which Captain Parry was possessed of, to keep him in his position. However, the old gentleman turned out to be a wag, and mimicked the gestures of the gallant navigator, with such humour, as to create considerable diversion amongst the bye-standers. His patience, however, was put to a very severe test, as a barter for commodities was going on between the crew and his companions, very near him, all the time he was sitting. They seemed to have a very good notion of making a bargain; and their manner of concluding it was by licking the article purchased twice all over; after which ceremony, it was considered to be final. There are some things, we imagine, with reference to which this The canoes were mode of consummation would not be very agreeable. found to move much faster in the water when there was no sea, than the ship's boat, but only one person could sit in each. Those people seem to have very strict notions of honesty, and they showed every disposition to do the crews any service in their power. They acquired very quickly several words of English, which they were fond of repeating; and, in their gestures and vociferations, evinced a strong inclination to humour. Captain Parry tells us, quite in the spirit of our delectable old friend, Jamie Boswell, that when these people looked through a telescope, or a kaleidoscope, some of them shut the right eye, and some of them the left. We hope this was carefully noted among the discoveries in the log book. The Captain afterwards landed on the main land, and visited two of the Esquimaux tents, where they were received by men, women, and children, with a general, but welcoming vociferation. They exchanged several articles with the crew, and were very strict in their dealings. In order to prove their honesty, Captain Parry relates that he had sold an axe to an old woman, for a dog, and had given her the axe in addition, perhaps, the most interesting vance; the dogs were exceedingly phenomenon, which the navigators shy, and she might easily have e- remarked, was the effect which the vaded the performance of her con- approach to the North Pole obviously tract; but she immediately set off had upon the needle. with a kind of thong noose, which they are obliged to use for the purpose, and soon presented the purchaser with one of the finest in the country. There is a minute description of these people, which serves to fill up a few pages; but they appear, both in person and habitation, not to differ from the general class of Esquimaux. They seem, indeed, not to be very delicate in their appetites; for both old and young, when a bird was given them, swallowed it feathers and all, in the most ravenous manner. This delicate propensity seems to be fully participated by the four-legged companions; for it seems the dog which Captain Parry purchased from the old lady, after having been regularly fed, immediately, and without scruple, swallowed a large piece of canvass, a cotton handkerchief which had been just washed, and part of a check shirt. We are of opinion, that the old lady was very right to part with him. It certainly showed a due regard for her seal-skin wardrobe. The puppies would at any time, if permitted, kill themselves by over eating; and it is curious enough, that in the different bargains, the children invariably, and without any question, exercised a right over the young dogs. The behaviour, however, of these simple people, impressed the navigators with a high respect for them; and they never evinced, in all their intercourse, the least disposition to purloin any thing. The crews made them some trifling presents, for which they were very grateful, and they watched the departure of the vessels in sorrowful silence. On the 26th of September, the ice appeared to be so packed towards the westward, as to preclude all possibility of any farther progress, or indeed of even minutely examining the coast, there being then twelve hours of darkness. Under these circumstances, any farther attempt was considered useless; and the ships steered their course for England, in their passage to which they experienced very stormy weather. During this expe From the time of their entering Lancaster's sound, the sluggishness of the compasses, and their great irregularity, became apparent; and, at last, the directive power of the needle became so weak, as to be completely overcome by the attracIn a few days, tion of the ship. the binnacles were removed, as useless lumber, from the deck to the carpenter's store-room; and the true courses, and direction of the wind, were in future noted in the log-book, as obtained to the nearest quarter point, when the sun was visible, by the azimuth of that object, and the apparent time. With respect to the main object of the expedition, Captain Parry seems to entertain very sanguine expectations. In addition to the discoveries which have been already made by himself, to those of Cook and Mackenzie, and on an inspection of the map, he thinks it almost a certainty that a north-west passage into the Pacific will be finally accomplished, and that the outlet will be found at Behring's Strait. But this he considers altogether impracticable for British ships, in consequence of the length of the voyage which must first be performed, in order to arrive at the point where the work is to be begun. Upon the whole, therefore, he considers that any expedition equipped by England with this view, would act with greater advantage by at once employing its best energies in the attempt to penetrate from the eastern coast of America, along its northern shore. Whatever may be the ultimate fate of these attempts, and whatever may be the ultimate result of these discoveries, which may, perhaps, add something to the science and the fame of our country, but which will, we fear, prove of but little practical utility, taken in a commercial point of view; still there certainly can be but one opinion as to the zeal and capabilities of Captain Parry. He seems to have performed the duties entailed on him by the Admiralty, not only with the skill of an able seaman, but to have much recommended his performance of them by the good humour and humanity which marked his conduct in the most trying situations. Perhaps the loss of the sun, and the inutility of the needle, and the frost bites in Winter Harbour, will not give the land reader half so distinct an idea of the perils to which such seas expose the navigator, as a single glance at some of the plates which are given in this volume. The situation of the ships at times must have been tremendous; and nothing can have been more awful than to behold sea and shore, hill and valley, in short, nature herself, under the aspect of one continued icebergno sound to break upon the silence, but the explosions of the ice, or the howling of the wolves; and no living thing to meet the eye, except some ravenous and half-famished animal. The embellishments of the work are very well executed; and the narrative is clear, consecutive, and simple. Our limits, and the late time at which we received this volume, will not allow us to give more than what we are aware is, and necessarily must be, a very hurried sketch, but we hope we have said enough to direct the reader to the original fountain. The gallant navigator is again securely cased in icebergs, from the shafts of criticism-we sincerely wish him a good voyage, a happy termination smiles and welcome from the Esquimaux Venus, and all the rewards and honours of the board of Admiralty. Miller Redivivus. No. IV. NEHEMIAH MUGGS, continued. Sailors assaulted in their reels, Give battle, whence our Saint, full mellow, WHILE Mr. Muggs pursued his way, Of sailors and their nymphs were met Who only err'd for want of teaching, Their minds would be the sooner fix'd |