OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 
123 
of which I had been apprehensive, especially among the men, that it acci- 1819 . 
dentally came to my knowledge about this period, that they complained of 
not having time to mend their clothes. This complaint I was as glad to hear, 
as desirous to rectify ; and I therefore ordered that, in future, one afternoon 
in each week should be set aside for that particular purpose. 
The circumstances of our situation being such as have never before oc- 
curred to the crews of any of His Majesty’s ships, it may not, perhaps, be 
considered wholly uninteresting, to know in what manner our time was thus 
so fully occupied throughout the long and severe winter, which it was our 
lot to experience, and particularly during a three months’ interval of nearly 
total darkness. 
The officers and quarter-masters were divided into four watches, which 
were regularly kept, as at sea, while the remainder of the ship’s company 
were allowed to enjoy their night’s rest undisturbed. The hands were turned 
up at a quarter before six, and both decks were well rubbed with stones and 
warm sand before eight o’clock, at which time, as usual at sea, both officers 
and men went to breakfast. Three-quarters of an hour beingallowedafterbreak- 
fast for the men to prepare themselves for muster, we then beat to divisions 
punctually at a quarter-past nine, when every person on board attended on the 
quarter-deck, and a strict inspection of the men took place, as to their per- 
sonal cleanliness, and the good condition, as well as sufficient warmth, of 
their clothing. The reports of the officers having been made to me, the 
people were then allowed to walk about, or, more usually, to run round the 
upper deck, while I went down to examine the state of that below, accom- 
panied, as I before mentioned, by Lieutenant Beechey and Mr. Edwards. 
The state of this deck may be said, indeed, to have constituted the chief 
source of our anxiety, and to have occupied by far the greatest share of our 
attention at this period. Whenever any dampness appeared, or, what more 
frequently happened, any accumulation of ice had taken place during the 
preceding night, the necessary means were immediately adopted for re- 
moving it ; in the former case usually by rubbing the wood with cloths, and 
then directing the warm air-pipe towards the place ; and in the latter, by 
scraping off the ice, so as to prevent its wetting the deck by any accidental 
increase of temperature. In this respect the bed-places were particularly 
troublesome ; the inner partition, or that next the ship’s side, being almost 
invariably covered with more or less dampness or ice, according to the tem- 
perature of the deck during the preceding night. This inconvenience might 
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