208 JOURNEY TO THE SHORES 



guide to trace his way. At length we came 

 to a spot which afforded us plenty of dwarf 

 birches, but they were so much frozen, and 

 the snow fell so thick, that upwards of two 

 hours were wasted in endeavouring to make 

 a fire ; during which time our clothes were 

 freezing upon us. At length our efforts were 

 crowned with success, and after a good 

 supper we laid, or rather sat, down to sleep ; 

 for the nature of the ground obliged us to 

 pass the night in a demi-erect position, with 

 our backs against a bank of earth. The 

 thermometer was 16° at six P.M. 



After enjoying a more comfortable night's 

 rest than we had expected, we set off at day- 

 break; the thermometer then standing at 

 18°. The ground was covered with snow, 

 the small lakes were frozen, and the whole 

 scene had a wintry appearance. We got 

 on but slowly at first, owing to an old 

 sprained ancle, which had been very trouble- 

 some to me for the last three days, and was 

 this morning excessively painful. In ford- 

 ing a rivulet, however, the application of 

 cold water gave me immediate relief, and I 



