lthough I saw small sign
of other grief." As soon as the storm abated, Hudson endeavoured to
extricate himself from the ice. Wherever any open space appeared, he
directed his course, sailing in almost every direction; but the longer
he contended with the ice, the more completely did he seem to be
enclosed, till at last he could go no further. The ship seemed to be
hemmed in on every side, and in danger of being soon closely wedged, so
as to be immovable. In this perilous situation, even the stout heart of
Hudson almost yielded to the feeling of despair; and, as he afterwards
confessed to one of the men, he thought he should never escape from the
ice, but that he was doomed to perish there.

He did not, however, allow his crew, at the time, to be aware what his
apprehensions really were; but, assembling them all around him, he
brought out his chart, and showed them that they had advanced in this
direction a hundred leagues further than any Englishman had done before;
and gave them their choice whether to proceed, or to return home. The
men could come to no agreement; some were in favor of returning, others
were for pushing forward. This was probably what Hudson expected; the
men were mutinous, and yet knew not what they wanted themselves. Having
fairly convinced them of this, it was easier to set them at work to
extricate the ship from her immediate danger. After much time and labor,
they made room to turn the ship round, and then by little and little
they worked their way along for a league or two, when they found a clear
sea.

The scene which has just been described, seems indeed a subject worthy
of the talents of a skilful painter. The fancy of the artist would
represent the dreary and frightful appearance of the ice-covered sea,
stretching away as far as the eye could reach, a bleak and boundless
waste; the dark and broken clouds driving across the fitful sky; the
ship motionless amidst the islands and mountains of ice, her shrouds and
sails being fringed and stiffened with the frozen spray. On the deck
would appear the form of Hudson himself, displaying the chart to his
men; his countenance careworn and sad, but still concealing, under the
appearance of calmness and indifference, the apprehensions and
forebodings, which harrowed his mind. About him would be seen the rude
and ruffian-like men; some examining the chart with eager curiosity,
some glaring on their commander with eyes of hatred and vengeance, and
expre