eezes, all was harmony on board, and every man
was obedient to the lawful commander. As weeks passed away, and they
pressed forward on the wide waste of waters, there were occasional
acts of neglect of duty. Still the commander retained his authority.
No one ventured to refuse to be in subjection to him, But as the ship
advanced farther and farther into those unexplored regions, new toils
and dangers stared them in the face. The cold blasts of those wintry
regions chilled their limbs. Mountains of ice, dashed about by the
tempests, threatened destruction to the ship and to the crew. As far
as the eye could reach, a dreary view of chilling waves and of
floating ice warned them of dangers, from which no earthly power
could extricate them. The ship was far away from home, and in regions
which had been seldom, if ever, seen by mortal eyes. The boldest were
at times appalled by the dangers, both seen and unseen, which were
clustering around them. Under these circumstances the spirit of
revolt broke out among that ship's crew. They resolved that they
would no longer be in subjection to their commander. They rose
together in rebellion: deprived him of his authority, and took the
control of the ship into their own hands. They then placed their
captain in an open boat, and throwing in to him a few articles of
provision, they turned him adrift upon that wide and cheerless ocean,
and he never was heard of more. Appointing one of their number as
commander, they turned the ship in a different direction, and
regulated all their movements by their own pleasure. After this
revolt, things went on pretty much as before. They had deprived their
lawful commander of his authority and elevated another to occupy his
place. A stranger would, perhaps, have perceived no material
difference, after this change, in the conduct of the crew. The
preservation of their own lives rendered it necessary that the
established rules of naval discipline should be observed. By night
the watches were regularly set and relieved as before. The helmsman
performed his accustomed duty, and the sails were spread to the
winds, or furled in the tempest, as occasion required. But still they
were all guilty of mutiny. They had refused to submit to their lawful
commander. Consequently, by the laws of their country, they were all
condemned to be hung. The faithful discharge of the necessary duties
of each day after their revolt, did not in the least free them from
blame. T