agreeable part of our journey,
while we walked lightly along, with our snow-shoes under our arms, I
fell into a reverie upon the superior advantages of travelling in cold
weather, and the delights of walking on sandy beaches in contrast with
wet snow. These cogitations, however, were suddenly interrupted by our
arrival at the place where the ice had parted from the general mass; so,
with a deep sigh, we resumed our snow-shoes. My feet, from the friction
of the lines, now began to feel very painful; so, having walked about
ten miles, I proposed taking a rest. To this my man, who seemed rather
tired, gladly acceded, and we proceeded to light a fire under the stem
of a fallen tree which opportunely presented itself.

Here we sat down comfortably together; and while our wet shoes and socks
dried before the blazing fire, and our chafed toes wriggled joyously at
being relieved from the painful harness of the snow-shoes, we swallowed
a cup of congou with a degree of luxurious enjoyment, appreciable only
by those who have walked themselves into a state of great exhaustion
after a hurried breakfast.

Greatly refreshed by the tea, we resumed our journey in better spirits,
and even affected to believe we were taking an agreeable afternoon walk
for the first mile or so. We soon, however, fell to zero again, as we
gazed wistfully upon the long line of coast stretching away to the
horizon. But there was no help for it; on we splashed, sometimes
through ice, water, and snow, and sometimes across the shingly beach,
till the day was far spent, when I became so exhausted that I could
scarcely drag one foot after the other, and moved along almost
mechanically. My man, too, strong as he was, exhibited symptoms of
fatigue; though, to do him justice, he was at least seven times more
heavily laden than I.

While we jogged slowly along in this unenviable condition, a lump of ice
offered so tempting a seat that we simultaneously proposed to sit down.
This was very foolish. Resting without a fire is bad at all times; and
the exhausted condition we were then in made it far worse, as I soon
found to my cost. Tired as I was before, I could have walked a good
deal farther; but no sooner did I rise again to my feet than an
inexpressible weakness overcame me, and I felt that I could go no
farther. This my man soon perceived, and proposed making a fire and
having a cup of tea; and then, if I felt better, we might proceed. This
I agreed to;