182 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT, ROSS. 
of, which on any other occasion would never have been admitted 
for a moment, to hold a place in our imagination. It was per¬ 
haps on this very principle that Capt. Ross projected his last 
voyage, at all events it was evident that the Sunday exercises of 
the pupils in reading the bible aloud to the erudite officers and 
crew, was a project, which was very little calculated to instil 
into the mind of the adult pupil, a predilection for biblical learn¬ 
ing, or to act as a stimulus to the prosecution of his studies. 
In a school, where all the scholars are dunces, as was the case 
with the sch ol of the Victory, no fear can exist of the exposure 
of incapacity more in one quarter than another, for the fools-cap 
would sit equally well on all, but there is something so utterly re¬ 
pugnant to our feelings in the public exposure of our ignorance, that 
it is an ordeal which few can undergo, and which has a tendency 
to frustrate the very object, which it is intended to gain. 
The weather moderated on the 28th, and the crew were again 
employed in the tisyphonicai task of cutting the cylinders out of 
the ice. During their operations however, a kind of Godsend 
appeared to them, in the shape of a large piece of ash timber, 
and every exertion was made to obtain possession of it. A calcu¬ 
lation was made as to how many fires it would contribute to light, 
and how many ovens it would heat for the bakings, and the hope 
was entertained, that as one log had made its appearance, others 
would come from the same quarter, and thus a regular supply of 
fuel be obtained without encroaching upon their private resources. 
Possession was formerly taken of the log of timber, but it was 
the will of the fates, that the hope of the sailors should not be 
realized, for the waters came rushing over it, and the timber and 
the cylinders appeared as if they were most likely to be left as a 
legacy, to the next company of adventurers, who might be dis¬ 
posed to penetrate into those latitudes, for the enjoyment of the 
delightful recreation, of experiencing the utmost possible degree 
of cold which is known on the surface of the globe. 
An official account was taken of the health of the crew at the 
close of the year, and it was found with the exception of the 
armourer to be in the best possible state. In fact it may be said, 
that the crow had as yet undergone no privations', and their ex- 
