A FIGHT WITH THE FROST. that remains. Work of all kind remains-" prosper Thou the work of our hands upon us, O prosper Thou our handiwork." Feelings pass, thoughts and imaginations pass, dreams-ay, and the fondest day-dreams, too-all pass; work remains. What we have done for our souls, that remains through eternity; what we have helped to make others, that, too, remains, and is accounted unto us either for righteousness or for condemnation. And let the reader remember that as each day passes we are one day nearer that eternity, when our work shall be judged "of what sort it is." Our present state of existence is ending; another state of being is rapidly approaching; day by day we are now working out our destiny for eternityworking it out in the trifles of every-day life. How needful, therefore, is this warning of the man of God-"Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom!" How necessary for us to carry out its lesson in our work and in our recreation, in our hours of sorrow and in our hours of joy! Who does not feel, even in a simple text of Holy Scripture 759 like this, that all Scripture was written by the inspiration of God, for our learning, and that holy men of old spake and wrote as the Spirit gave them utterance? We should, therefore, try to live through each day as if it were our last; not in gloomy fear or continual consternation, but soberly and wisely, taking care that everything we do should be subservient to the good of our soul, the health of our body, and the profit of our mind. And to this end we should "number our days "-i.e., we should at the close of each day take account of how it was spent, wherein we did right, wherein we did wrong; how we may do better or worse on the morrow; and at the commencement of each day we should consider well what we have to do, and pray God to give us strength to do it. And so the lives we thus lead may be our best comment upon the words of the text, and our comfort in death may be to feel that God's warning came in time, and that for many, many years our hearts have been applied unto the true wisdom-the wisdom of righteousness. BY DORA GREENWELL. A FIGHT WITH THE FROST.-V. SIR JOHN RICHARDSON'S ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS. RANKLIN'S first intention had been to return by the Coppermine River and the Martin Lake, but what he had already seen of the poverty of that line of country in respect of game, determined him upon altering his plan of action. He now resolved to make direct for Fort Enterprise by way of Arctic Sound, where they had found animals more numerous, and to follow up Hood's river as far as they might find it navigable. Their luggage consisted of ammunition, nets, hatchets, ice-chisels, astronomical instruments, and blankets, with the addition of three kettles and two canoes, each so light as to be easily carried by one man. Their path, from its very outset, was closely tracked by disaster. At their first starting a storm of snow came on, accompanied by a high wind, against which it was difficult to carry the canoes, upon the safety of which so much depended; and each of them received injury from the falls of the men who carried them. One was so seriously damaged that it was rendered hopelessly unserviceable, so that it had to be broken up, and a fire was made of it, at which, after a three days' fast, they cooked their last meal of portable soup and arrowroot. They had now reached a more hilly country, strewed with large stones and covered with grey lichen, well known to Canadians as tripe de roche. It is eatable, but eaten only in cases of extremity, as its taste is nauseous and its quality purgative. Before, however, many days were over they were glad to gather it from the rocks, on which it was so firmly frozen that their hands were benumbed with cold before they could collect enough of it to make a meal, and even then, so poor was it in nutritive juices, it could allay their hunger but a very short time. At length, reaching the summit of a hill, they saw a herd of musk oxen feeding in the valley below. The best hunters stole forward cautiously, a shot was heard, and one of the largest cows was seen to fall, “a success which," Franklin says, “infused spirit into our starving party.. The contents of its stomach were devoured upon the spot, and the raw intestines, which were next attacked, were pronounced by the most delicate of the party to be excellent. A few willows, whose tops were seen peeping through the snow in the bottom of the valley, were quickly grubbed up, the tents pitched, and supper cooked and devoured with avidity. It was the sixth day since we had had a good meal.” Their supper the next evening was a lighter one; they had but a single partridge to divide among a fatigued and hungry party! It was their last morsel of animal food, and when they turned to the anxious hope of catching some fish in the lake, they found that the persons entrusted with the nets had improvidently thrown them away on their leaving Hood's river. Things now looked more and more gloomy, the men grew weaker, and they were obliged to lighten their bundles of all except ammunition, clothing, and the instruments necessary to guide them on their way. They left behind them the dipping-needle, azimuth, magnet, three large thermometers, and the few books they had so far carried. At this depressing moment a fine trait of disinterestedness occurred. As the officers stood together round a small fire, enduring the very intensity of hunger, Perrault, one of the Canadians, presented each of them with a piece of meat out of a little store which he had saved from his allowance. "It was received," says Franklin, "with great thankfulness, and such an instance of self-denial and kindness filled our eyes with tears." They were occasionally cheered by finding game, but their sufferings from hunger were very great, and this, joined with fatigue and disappointment, began to try the tempers of the men very sorely. They were now entering upon a level country covered with snow, where even the tripe de roche was no longer to be seen, and a mess of Iceland moss, which was boiled for supper, proved so bitter than none of the party could taste more than a few spoonfulls. Another distress now attacked them. As the intensity of the cold increased, they became less fit to endure it, the slightest breeze seemed to pierce through and through their weakened and wearied frames. 'Often," writes Franklin, we had not even the luxury of going to bed in dry clothes; and when the fire was not good enough to dry our shoes at, we dared not venture to pull them off, lest they should freeze so hard as not to allow us to put them on in the morning. On encamping, our supper was eaten as soon as prepared, usually in the dark; evening prayers were read; we lay down, keeping up a cheerful conversation on the events of the day, until our blankets were thawed by the heat of our bodies, and we had gathered sufficient warmth to enable us to fall asleep." 66 66 ment, or hope for reward. They no longer attended strictly to the orders of their officers, whose opinions, of course, weighed with them still less than their commands, and in the present instance we were not able to carry conviction to their minds as to the certainty of this river being actually the Coppermine, by following which we would reach Fort Enterprise again, did our calculations hold good, at the distance of forty miles." The men continually strayed off from the main party in search of game, and there was reason to believe that, even when successful, what was found was not in all cases contributed to the common store. Their tempers, too, became soured, and almost savage, and on one occasion, when some hunters who had been detached from the general body by Franklin's orders to search for game were longer in returning than was expected, they became quite furious at the idea of having been deserted, and, throwing down their bundles, declared they would follow them at all hazards, and leave the weaker ones of the party to keep up as they best could. The remonstrances of the officers, and the timely sight of a herd of deer, out of which they were so fortunate as to kill five, turned them from this wild project, which must have ended in general destruction; yet we can easily judge how this temper, on the part of the Canadian voyageurs, deepened the gloom already so thickly gathering round the devoted band, and added to the difficulties of its leader. Under present circumstances Franklin, still looking out for a ford, could only follow the course of the river, which quickly brought them to Point Lake. Here," says Franklin, "I determined on again sending Mr. Back forward with the interpreters to hunt. In this arrangement I had the further object of enabling him to get across the lake, so as to convey the earliest possible account of our situation to the Indians. I accordingly instructed him to halt at the first pines he came to, and then prepare a raft whereon to cross with his two companions, St. Germain and Beau-parlant, and send the Indians to us as quickly as possible with supplies of meat. On the 20th, after various incidents, some of them of a very discouraging nature, and none so much so as one to which Franklin attributed much after calamity-the loss of their only remaining "We had this evening the pain of discovering canoe, which either through accident, careless-that two of our men had stolen part of the officers' ness, or some perverse intention on the part of provision, a crime,” adds Franklin, "the less exthe men carrying it, became so greatly injured as cusable, as the food had been divided between to have to be abandoned-they reached the banks officers and men with strict impartiality, and our of a river which, from its size, they at once recog. nised as the Coppermine. "In a canoe," writes Franklin, "we could have crossed it with ease and safety. As it was, we thought of making a raft; but this plan, too, had to be given up, through the obstinacy of the Canadian voyageurs, who had by this time, through utter despondency, become careless and disobedient. They had ceased to dread punish * Mr. Back, through the whole of Sir John Franklin's nar rative, down to the fearful exigencies that mark its close, seems to play the part of a very "Sir William of Deloraine, good at need," and best when need was extremest. As inde fatigable as was the stout border knight (and to far better purposes), he is the forager of the party; himself starving, he leaves his starving friends to search for food, and to hunt up the recusant Indians, and again and again returns to them with what cheer he may. The words recur so often, "I sent Back forward to explore," or, "Back now returned to us with game,” that his movements give one a sense of ubiquity in usefulness. sufferings from want were even greater than theirs from our being less inured to privation. We had, however, no means of punishing them, except by the threat of forfeited wages, which had now ceased to affect them." 66 'Mr. Back and his companions set out at six in the morning, and we started at seven. I gave strict orders that all the party should keep together, and especially impressed this on the two Esquimaux, as they often strayed off in search of dead animals. Before noon we had advanced seven or eight miles along the lake, losing much distance in rounding its numerous bays. At length we came to an arm running towards the north-east, and apparently connecting itself with the lake we had already coasted." were driven back for want of oars. The tentstaves were then tied together, and formed a strong pole; but even at a short distance from the shore it was found too short to reach the bottom of the river. Dr. Richardson produced a paddle, which he had brought with him from the coast; but it was found not powerful enough to impel the raft against a strong breeze, which had set in from the opposite shore. All the men had suf fered extremely from the coldness of the water, in which they had been plunged up to their waists in their endeavours to aid Bélanger and Benoit, and on seeing one plan after another fail, they were ready to abandon the whole scheme as hopeless. "At this time," says Franklin, in his narrative, "Dr. Richardson, prompted by a desire of relieving his suffering companions, proposed to swim across the stream with a line, and to haul the raft over. He launched into the stream with the line round his middle, but when he had got a short distance from the bank, his arms became benumbed with cold, and he lost the power of Franklin says that the idea of rounding such a large piece of water, and of traversing a vast extent of dreary country was dreadful to them. They feared the strength of the party might entirely fail before they could reach the only part where they were certain of finding wood for the raft, a point now distant in a direct line of twenty-moving them; still he persevered, and turning on five miles. When they were consulting together over this emergency, some of the men discovered the carcass of a deer in the cleft of a rock, into which the animal had fallen in the spring. It was quite putrid, but on that account none the less delicious, and a fire being kindled, a large portion of it was rapidly devoured, and the spirits of the men so cheered that they insisted on retracing their steps to the rapids of the Coppermine, where the first halt had been made, and beginning to construct the raft which they had there declared to be an impracticable project. Franklin was only too glad to take advantage of a change which furthered what he himself believed to be the most hopeful course, and having sent off Augustus, one of the Esquimaux interpreters, to find Mr. Back, and let him know of the change of route, they began to retrace their journey, encamping at night in a deep valley among some large willows, where they supped on the remains of the putrid deer. Next day they regained the rapids. The river at this its narrowest part was about 130 yards wide. They began at once to cut willows for the raft, and a reward of 300 livres was promised by Franklin to the first person who should convey a line across the river, strong enough to manage the raft, and transport the party. The raft was quickly made, but the willows being green, it proved heavy and incapable of supporting more than one man at a time. Even on this they hoped the whole party might be transported, but all depended on getting a line carried to the opposite bank through a current, as we have seen, 130 yards wide, strong, deep, and intensely cold. Bélanger and Benoit, the two strongest men of the party, repeatedly attempted to take the raft over, but his back had nearly gained the opposite bank, I cannot describe Soon after this they were cheered by the wel come return of Mr. Back and his companions, who, after tracking the course of the lake fifteen "It is probable that few of the voyageurs themselves would have presented so gaunt and emaciated an appearance as the brave and excellent man who had thus nearly fallen a sacrifice hunters were in the practice of withholding the game they to his humanity, as it was about this time discovered that the shot, and devouring it in secret."-Northern Coasts of America. SCENES IN CARTHAGE IN THE OLDEN TIME. miles further, and finding it undoubtedly connected with the other lake (before alluded to), had given up the idea of coasting round it, and had come back to regain the main party. To cross the rapids was now to all the sole remaining hope. St. Germain, one of the Canadian hunters, proposed to make a canoe out of the painted canvas used to wrap the bedding in, stretching it upon a framework of willows. For this purpose, he and a companion called Adam removed to a clump of willows, whilst another party went back to a former place of encampment, among some small pines, to collect pitch to pay over the seams. Meanwhile a storm set in, and the snow fell heavily, covering the ground to the depth of a foot and a half. The men's energies sank under the added sufferings the storm entailed, gloom seemed to fall upon all their spirits, and to rest there as thick and heavy as the fast-gathering snow. In the emphatic language of Scripture, "all faces had gathered blackness," a depression which their circumstances too' sadly justified. Young Mr. Hood was by this time reduced to a mere shadow, Mr. Back required the support of a stick, Dr. Richardson was lame, and Franklin so feeble as to be unable, after spending three hours in the effort, to reach the spot where St. Germain was at work upon the raft, a distance of only three-quarters of a mile. The voyageurs, ever ready to despond, had sunk into the apathy and indifference of despair; they would not go out to gather tripe de roche, which the officers were now unable, through weakness, to collect for themselves, and the cook, Samandre, refused to make the slightest exertion. A bright contrast to this sullen selfishness was now presented in the conduct of John Hepburn, who seems at this particular moment to have been the good genius of his suffering comrades. Franklin tells us of his firm reliance on the goodness of the Almighty and cheerful resignation to his will-principles which never for a moment forsook him. Thus inly stayed and supported, his strength was applied to the help of his sinking companions. "He," writes Franklin in his diary, "was inde 763 fatigable in his exertions to serve us, and daily collected all the tripe de roche used by the officers. Mr. Hood could not partake of this miserable fare, and I lament to say that a partridge which had been reserved for him was this day stolen by one of the men." The canoe, upon which so much depended, being now finished, the little party assembled on the beach, in anxious expectation, and St. Germain pushed forth in it, and in the midst of their prayers for his success, succeeded in gaining the opposite shore. The canoe was then drawn back again, and one by one the whole party were at last ferried over in it, without any accident, except the utter drenching both of garments and bedding, owing to the leaky condition of the poor little boat. Mr. Back, with three Canadian voyageurs, was at once sent forward to push his way to Fort Enterprise, where it was confidently expected, through the directions given to Mr. Wentzel, the Indians would be waiting with supplies of food, while the rest of the party followed as they best could. Their spirits were greatly cheered at finding themselves all landed on the southern bank. The Canadian voyageurs shook the officers by the hand, and expressed their confident hope, even in their present enfeebled condition, of reaching Fort Enterprise in the course of a few days. But short as was the actual space between them and that greatly-desired bourne, it was, alas! thronged for them with silent and deadly foes. In that Via Dolorosa, they were to encounter the extremity of cold, hunger, and weariness, even unto death; with still direr enemies lurking in the background treachery, murder, and the dark insanity of despair. They now travelled forward in single file, each man keeping a little distance from his neighbour. Mr. Hood, now all but exhausted, fell to the rear. Richardson keeping his place by his side. Franklin led, the foremost men occasionally halting to give stragglers time to come up. Tripe de roche was now their only food, and even this, so thickly had the snow fallen, they could not always find. SCENES IN CARTHAGE HERE was a day in the year A.D. 202 which is, or ought to be, memorable in the history of Carthage. On that day a child of two years of age was playing at his mother's knee, and amusing her with his inarticulate efforts at speech. Almost within sight of them the sleepy sea was lapping lazily among the scattered rocks of the bay, or languidly kissing the steps of the IN THE OLDEN TIME. harbour. The ships, which lay moored in the mid-waters or lashed to the pier, seemed to partake of the delicious and luxurious indolence of all about them; for the harbour and shipping were deserted, and all who could possibly escape from business were crowding into the city, to witness the games and festivals which were being held in honour of the accession, or rather the association, of young Geta with his father in the honours of the empire. |