COAL ACCOUNT. 157 



is a beam in the fore-hold, only two feet and a half 

 from the floor, which he can no longer climb over. 

 His efforts to crawl under it have been not unaptly 

 compared to those of a seal waddling over the ice 

 about its breathing-hole. Mr. Wardle's fat boy was 

 not more shapeless, and, like that plethoric individual, 

 he chiefly divides his time between eating and sleep- 

 ing. His cheeks are puffed out in a very ridiculous 

 manner, and altogether he answers very well the de- 

 scription of Mirabeau's corpulent acquaintance, who 

 seemed to have been created for no other purpose 

 than to show to what extent the human skin is capa- 

 ble of being stretched without bursting. The execu- 

 tive officer tells me that he sent him the other day to 

 the upper deck to dress a couple of reindeer ; but, 

 having proceeded far enough to expose a tempting 

 morsel, he halted in his work, carved off a slice of the 

 half-frozen flesh, and was found some time afterwards 

 first asleep between the two dead animals, with the 

 last fragment of his bonne louche dangling from his 

 lips. 



November 1st. 



The new month comes in stormy. The travelers 

 were to have set out to-day, but a fierce gale detains 

 them on board. The moon is now three days past 

 full, and if they are delayed much longer they will 

 scarcely have light enough for the journey. 



McCormick and Dodge have set a bear-trap between 

 the icebergs Castor and Pollux. It is a mammoth 

 steel-trap, and is baited with venison and fastened with 

 my best ice-anchor. I pity the poor beast that gets 

 his foot in it. 



I have been overhauling our coal account, and have 

 regulated the daily consumption for the winter. We 



