) we were driven off the
coast upon the field of ice, I was not much alarmed, for I did not
apprehend much danger. At night when we lay down to rest we commended
ourselves in prayer to God our Saviour, and gave up our lives into his
hands, which we always continued to do. On the 5th, as we were
floating pretty near to the point of Tikkerarsuk, I hoped that our
brother Conrad, who had been with us, would come to help us with
kaiaks. We repeatedly thought we heard the report of fire-arms, and
therefore fired off our pieces, but towards evening, we perceived that
we had been mistaken. Now I began to feel great fears about the
preservation of my life, and thinking of my poor family, I wept much.
With many tears I cried fervently to Jesus to save me. I could speak
with him as if he stood by me, and said; 'I pray that I may not be
carried to the other side of the water, nor to the south, nor too far
to the north among the unbelievers, but that my body may have a decent
burial in the earth. O! shew mercy to me, and do thou, the only helper
in need, take care of my poor family!' Then these words occurred to my
mind, 'Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown,'
which made me shed tears of gratitude and love to our Saviour, like a
child, though at so great a distance from home. I entered our
snow-house weeping, and we both joined in calling upon Jesus for help
and comfort. This we did every morning and evening. On the 6th, in the
morning, finding ourselves carried far away from the land into the
ocean, we again looked for comfort to Jesus, and prayed to him with
many tears to help us, and direct our course. We sung that verse
together, 'O lift up thy countenance upon us,' and these words were
impressed upon my mind, 'I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep,
and am known of mine.' I felt my unworthiness deeply, and nothing but
the words of Jesus could give me joy. I prayed fervently to him, that
he would give his angels charge over me. I spent the whole day in
prayer, and as I walked about alone, several parts of Scripture
occurred to my recollection, especially the account of my Saviour's
being taken captive. The prayer he offered up for his disciples, John
XVII. was peculiarly precious to me, and gave me great comfort.
Frequently I felt joy in my heart on remembering our Saviour's words,
and that he said to his disciples, 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' On the
7th, the fog was so dense that we could not see whithe