erfectly quiet; but still it was better than
remaining on the iceberg, and we contrived to pass our time tolerably
well with smoking, eating, and catching fish. The seas in those
latitudes abound in fish, so that we were able to feed poor Bruin
abundantly on them, or he would never have performed the hard work he
had got through.

"At last a sail hove in sight, towards which I guided Bruin. I believe
otherwise he would have carried us safely to some southern coast,
towards which he was steering. When the people in the vessel first saw
us they would not believe that we were human beings, though, after we
had hailed pretty lustily in English, they hove their craft to, and told
us to come on board.

"Accordingly, securing the timber astern, we three climbed up the side,
followed by Bruin, and were not a little amused by hearing the mate tell
the captain, who was ill in his cabin, that there were four men just
picked up. He had taken the bear for a human being--there was so little
difference in appearance between any of us. Ha, ha, ha! It was some
time, too, before the mistake was discovered. The mate was
disappointed, for they were short-handed, and he fancied Bruin would
prove a fine heavy-sterned fellow for pulling and hauling. So he did
when I taught him, and he would fist the end of a rope, and run the
topsails up the masts with as much ease as half a dozen of the crew
could together. The vessel was the Highland Lass, bound from Halifax to
Greenock, where we arrived in three weeks in perfect health and spirits.
One of my companions, James Hoxton, took care of honest Bruin, who, not
being accustomed to a civilised country, would have been rather adrift
by himself, and would scarcely have been treated as a distinguished
foreigner. Hoxton carried him about the country as a sight, and used to
give an account of our adventures, which very much astonished all the
people who heard them. Bruin liked the amusement, for he was fond of
travelling; but I was very sorry to part with him, for he had become the
most amiable and civilised of bears, though on our first introduction to
each other, I should not have supposed that such would ever have been
the case."

"Is that all, every bit of it, true, Mr Johnson?" asked Spellman, with
mouth agape.

"Did you ever see a polar bear, Mr Spellman?" demanded the boatswain in
an offended tone. "Yes," answered Spellman, "once, at a show."

"Then let me ask, young gentleman, w