A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 009 



that such a situation could by no means be considered 

 enviable. Having advanced further yiorth than the whalers 

 (who are certainly most intrepid and daring navigators) had 

 ever ventured before ; the circumstance also of the Thomas 

 being the last to return, though some others were in sio-ht : 

 and the apprehension that the wind coming from the south- 

 ward, or westward of south, might set the yet undissolved 

 ice again towards the inhospitable shores of Greenland, 

 and so preclude the possibility of return, were matters for 

 reflection little calculated to preclude alarm. Under those 

 circumstances, however, the discipline of the men, however 

 rude it may be considered, kept every mind on the alert ; 

 and the ship^s forecastle and bow were never without a 

 careful eye to look out for danger. As the fog advanced 

 in the afternoon, the whole surrounding scene became 

 obscured ; many bergs had been previously seen, and the 

 necessary precautions had been vigilantly insisted on. 

 Notwithstanding all the care of the watch on deck, the ship 

 came unexpectedly within half her bowsprit-length of a 

 frowning berg, deeply cloaked with mist, which, in the tem- 

 perature of the hour, it was throwing otF in clouds, and was 

 of course in such a tendency to solution, that the least touch 

 from any part of the ship would have produced a disruption 

 capable of overAvhelming her in an instant. Fortunately, 

 by backing the sails immediately, the danger was avoided ; 



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