, the danger most to be dreaded of the voyage; since, if
the weather should prove thick, and the ice swim deep, scarce showing
above the surface, as is commonly the case, a ship going quickly through
the water may strike before any measures can be taken to avoid the
encounter.

A fine packet, the Liverpool, but nine days out, on her first trip was
totally lost on one of these in the summer of 1822; and this very year
our captain coasted to the southward for seventy miles along the edge of
a field of ice, in which he had previously been locked-up for fifty
hours, till released by a lucky shift of wind. On this occasion he had
one on board whose experience among ice had been well tested, and was
about to be yet again tried; for Lieutenant Back was here on his
perilous adventure in quest of the long lost Captain Ross and his crew.

For the succeeding sixteen or seventeen days of our voyage the weather
was generally fine. Upon the western edge of the Banks we had a few
days' calm, which taking advantage of, I turned my morning shower-bath
into a plunge from the bowsprit, and had a delicious swim round the
ship. The passengers, however, got wind of my fun, and in obedience to
the kindly meant remonstrances of one or two of them, I forbore a
pleasure which never occurred to me to be perilous, for I have practised
it in many parts of the ocean, always taking care that there was no way
upon the ship.

We had no casualties except amongst the pigs, sheep, and poultry; and as
yet no great loss of spars, indeed in all our blows, we only sprung a
main-topsail yard, carried away a fore-topmast, and made a few
stu'n-sail booms,--for the latter, we had very little use, not having
the wind abaft the beam over five days, all counted, out of a passage of
thirty-five; and how it was accomplished in the time under the
circumstances, is yet to me a matter of some wonderment.

FOOTNOTE:

[2] To homeward-bound ships these visits of the _Rathlineans_, often
prove sufficiently welcome, as they generally provide themselves with a
cargo of ancient, fish-like milk, and fine potatoes. The Europe having
an excellent dairy and a poultry-yard of her own, stood in no need of
their supplies.

JOURNAL AT SEA.

This is usually a very monotonous task to the journalist, and can hardly
fail of soon becoming tiresome to the reader, since a voyage away from
the land affords but little to record; still, as it is my intention
occasionally to refe