THE ROMANCE OF THE NORTH, 419 



very water's edge, when it must have been perfectly tight, 

 in consequence of the obstruction to its running out of the 

 boat, the interval between the fastening of the line about 

 him and his disappearance could not have exceeded the 

 third part of a second of time ; for in one second only he 

 must have been dragged to the depth of ten or twelve 

 feet ! The accident was, indeed, so instantaneous that he 

 had not time for the least exclamation ; and the person 

 who witnessed his extraordinary removal observed, that 

 it was so exceedingly quick, that although his eye was 

 upon him at the instant, he could scarcely distinguish the 

 object as it disappeared." 



To Dr. Scoresby we are indebted also for our final illus- 

 tration of the dangers to which the whaler is constantly 

 exposed. Yet there is such a fascinalion in the life, that 

 a supply of good and steady seamen is never wanting. 

 Whether at Hull or Dundee, at Peterhead or Lerwick, 

 the whaling -ship finds no difficulty in making up her com- 

 plement. It cannot be the attraction of gain, for the pay- 

 ment, though liberal, is not excessive, and assuredly can- 

 not be set in the opposite scale against the hardships and 

 dangers to which the Arctic navigator is compelled to 

 accustom himself. We are inclined to believe that the 

 glittering field of ice, the snow-burdened shore, the drift- 

 ing berg, and the lonely creeks and inlets of the Polar 

 Ocean, exercise a wonderful influence upon the adven- 

 turous spirit. Whoever has once entered within the 

 charmed circle of the Arctic regions seems never at rest 

 until he can return thither. Their strange and marvellous 

 scenes haunt him apparently by day and night, and his 

 thoughts turn as steadfastly towards the North as the 

 soul of a devout Moslem towards Mecca ! And it is a 



