130 A GENERAL MASQUERADE. 



Nor were the efforts of the first lieutenant con- 

 fined to the enforcement of discipline or the regu- 

 lations of the mess; for, as I felt the importance 

 of amusing the minds of the crew during so 

 many hours of forced inaction by every innocent 

 device, he kindly undertook and personally super- 

 intended the getting up of a general masquerade. 

 The affair 'came off' on the 22d October; and 

 if the entertainment was not of a very refined cha- 

 racter, at all events it answered its purpose ; for 

 the fun was hearty and the laughter loud. Some 

 of the devices, as well as the contrivances to 

 give the necessary variety of costume, with the 

 scanty means at our command, did great credit 

 to the ingenuity of the performers ; and alto- 

 gether it was a gratifying scene, as showing how 

 the native elasticity of the mind can triumph 

 over circumstances the most cheerless and dis- 

 couraging. 



October 23d. After divine service, which was 

 listened to with a stillness that evinced, more 

 than words could have done, the devout feeling 

 created by the impressive and beautiful language 

 of our liturgy, as the weather was very fine, the 

 people, under the direction of the officers, were 

 sent on the ice for exercise ; and I too, putting 

 on a pair of Chippewyan snow-shoes, sallied out 

 and made towards the land, which I reached 

 after more than two hours of great fatigue. 



