BARENTZ' THIRD VOYAGE. 249 



Divine Providence which had hitherto sustained AD - 



J 596. 



them. 



" The journal of the proceedings of these poor 

 people," observes a well-known writer of northern 

 voyages,* " during their cold, comfortless, dark 

 and dreadful winter, is intensely painful, and 

 interesting. No murmur escapes them in their 

 most hopeless and afflicted situation : but such 

 a spirit of true piety, and a tone of such mild 

 and subdued resignation to Divine Providence, 

 breathe through the whole narrative, that it is 

 impossible to peruse the simple tale of their 

 sufferings and contemplate their forlorn situation 

 without the deepest emotion for the unhappy 

 fate of so many wretched beings, cut off from 

 all human aid, and almost from all hope of 

 their ever being able to leave their dark and 

 dismal adode." 



October set in with extremely cold weather, 

 and with heavy falls of snow, which greatly hin- 

 dered the completion of the house. Until this 

 was clone, the crew lived in the vessel, but they 

 were almost smothered with the smoke from the 

 fires which it was necessary to keep up, to 

 prevent their being frozen. On the twelfth the 

 house was finished, and some of the party slept 

 in it, but it was the 24th before they could all 



* Sir John Barrow. 



