158 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



suddenly hove to about two miles from us, and some 

 of us heard a sort of shout on board her : then she 

 anchored and hoisted flags at her mastheads. Some 

 said a boat had been seen to pull alongside her before 

 she anchored at any rate, here was a puzzle which 

 no one could make out ; and as the Barents seemed 

 to be riding comfortably at her anchor, and not in 

 Avant of assistance, no further notice except an occa- 

 sional inquisitive inspection through a telescope was 

 taken of her eccentric proceedings. In about an 

 hour a boat was seen pulling from the Barents to- 

 wards us with three men sitting in the stern-sheets, 

 one holding a huge Dutch flag tied to a boat-hook ; 

 this again was extraordinary. " Why should Dutch- 

 men pull against a strong head-wind with a large flag 

 held up to make their work the harder ? " A sort of 

 glimmering of the truth began to prevail ; and as the 

 boat approached, Sir Allen leaning over the counter, 

 the better to use the only eye which frost and snow 

 have left him, shouted, "Who is that? who are 

 you 1 " To which a voice replied, " Don't you know 

 me ? am I so altered then 1 " when instantly a 

 tremendous yell and cheer broke out from every one 

 on deck, which was taken up by the Dutch boat's 

 crew, and re-echoed from the distant Barents, whose 

 crew were watching everything that passed. Up 

 tumbled all hands from below, into the rigging, any- 

 where they could see from and shout from, and a 

 scene of the wildest enthusiasm prevailed as Mr 



