Chap. XIII. BACK'S ATTEMPT TO REACH REPULSE BAY. 495 



forming : in point of fact they were mostly undisci- 

 plined colliers, and almost equally undisciplined 

 whale-fishermen ; he had only a few ' men-of-war 

 men,' " who were worth the whole together." 



" The want of discipline and attention to personal comfort 

 were most conspicuous ; and though the wholesome regula- 

 tions practised in his Majesty's service were most rigidly 

 attended to in the Terror, yet such was the unsociability, 

 though without any ill-will, that it was only by a steady and 

 undeviating system pursued by the First- Lieutenant, that 

 they were brought at all together with the feelings of mess- 

 mates Reciprocity of kindness, a generous and self- 

 denying disposition, a spirit of frankness, a hearty and above- 

 board manner — these are the true characteristics of the British 

 seaman ; and the want of these is seldom compensated by 

 other qualities. In our case, and I mention this merely to 

 show the difference of olden and modern times, there were 

 only three or four in the ship who could not write ; all read ; 

 some recited whole pages of poetry ; others sang French 

 songs. Yet with all this, had they been left to themselves, 

 I verily believe a more unsociable, suspicious, and uncom- 

 fortable set of people could not have been found. Oh ! if 

 the two are incompatible, give me the old Jack Tar, who 

 would stand up for his ship, and give his life for his mess- 

 mate."— p. 128, 9. 



The weather and their situation were such now as 

 to bring even these reprobates to their senses ; the 

 thermometer at — 53°, making the rapid extraction of 

 heat bevond endurance, causing the faces to be frost- 

 bitten ; and the fire-places were so ill-contrived as to 

 afford no salutary heat, and they created, moreover, 

 " a fetid and impure atmosphere that lurked in the 



