98 ICEBOUND IN SIGHT OF LAND. 



Fixed as we were, we partook of the general 

 commotion ; and the ship being deep and too heavy 

 to rise w T ith the rest, it had to sustain the whole 

 pressure and became severely nipped, leaning 

 over considerably to starboard. The breeze, 

 too, which still blew from N. E., so far from 

 abating, came on attended by smart squalls. 

 At this time we appeared to be not more than 

 four miles from the land, which was broken into 

 exposed bays, utterly without shelter from the 

 north, and blocked up with close packed ice. 

 Not a pool of water was visible in any direction : 

 to the mercv of Providence alone could we look 

 for rescue from our perilous situation. None 

 but those who have experienced it can judge 

 of the weariness of heart, the blank of feeling, 

 the feverish sickliness of taste which gets the 

 better of the whole man under circumstances 

 such as these. Not an incident occurred to relieve 

 for a moment the dull monotony of our unprofit- 

 able detention. Will the wind ever come from the 

 westward ? was the question fretfully asked and 

 peevishly answered. This one idea had taken 

 entire possession of the mind, and whilst even a 

 doubt remained, no occupation, no amusement, 

 however ordinarily gratifying, had power to 

 please or even distract the thoughts. Not that 

 this, or any part of it, was expressed in words, 

 but the feeling was not the less easily detected, 



