632 
LAST VOYAGE OF CAPT. ROSS. 
their departure from the ship. The land was so high on the 
other side, that the men, after walking several miles, could 
scarcely perceive any difference in the distance : and Com¬ 
mander Ross himself, with the aid of his telescope, fancied that 
they were all under the influence of some northern Wizard ; for 
although it was evident to him, that all the locomotive powers 
of the party were in full action, yet they still appeared to make 
no progress; but on the contrary, the objects at a distance 
seemed to recede from them, in proportion as they came nearer 
to them. Capt. Ross indeed felt not the inconvenience of this 
delay in reaching Fury Beach: for, muffled up in his travelling 
dress, he very comfortably reclined in his sledge, instilling' 
fresh spirits into his exhausted men, by the animating cry of 
“ Haul away, lads, it is life or death with us.” An accident, 
however, happened to Capt. Ross, which certainly had a ten¬ 
dency to reduce his spirits, and to give an additional acerbity 
to a temper, at no times of the most amiable or placid kind. 
Whether it were owing to his clumsiness or his eagerness, 
cannot now be decided, but on visiting one of his chests, the 
contents of which were well known to the crew, he most un¬ 
fortunately broke one of the bottles, out of which burst in one 
unbroken stream, the juniper extract, which had flowed through 
the alembic of the Whitechapel distillery, and which he little 
thought was doomed “ to waste its spirit on the desert air.” 
But happy indeed is the man, who has a remedy at hand for 
any calamity, which may befal him ; and in this respect great 
indeed was the happiness of Capt. Ross, for in close contiguity 
with the aforesaid chest, stood a little green box, known by the 
significant title of his provender box. Potent indeed were some 
of the contents thereof, and frequent visitations were made there¬ 
to ; for in a corner stood a square green bottle of portly di¬ 
mensions, which, on the departure from the ship, was filled with 
cherry bounce, and, as a substitute for the juniper extract, no 
fault whatever was to be found with it. To it, therefore, did 
Capt. Ross apply, to console him for the loss, which he had 
experienced; and as he had been taught by his domine, that 
a thing, that is irrecoverably lost, cannot possibly be recovered. 
