DANGEROUS SITUATION OF THE SHIP. 807 
We remained in this state of anxiety and ap¬ 
prehension about two hours. On the one hand, 
we feared the calamity of shipwreck ;; on the other, 
in case of her preservation, w r e looked forward to 
immense difficulties, before the ship so firmly 
grounded could be got afloat. While I walked 
the deck under a variety of conflicting feelings, 
produced by the anticipation of probable events, 
and under the solemnizing influence natural to a 
situation of extreme peril, I was suddenly aroused 
by another squeeze of the ice, indicated by the 
cracking of the ship and the motion of the berg, 
which seemed to mark the moment of destruction. 
But the goodness of the Almighty proved bet¬ 
ter to us than our fears. This renewed pressure, 
by a singular and striking providence, was the 
means of our preservation. The nip took the ship 
about the bows, where it was received on a part 
rendered prodigiously strong by its arched form, 
and the thickness of the interior “ fortifications.” 
It acted like the propulsion of a round body 
squeezed between the fingers, driving the ship 
astern, and projecting her clear of all the ice, fair¬ 
ly afloat, with a velocity equal to that of her first 
launching! 
Fortunately the ropes and anchors held until 
her stern-way was overcome. As soon as she was 
brought up, our attention was instantly turned to 
U 3 
