A SOIRi.E A T FORT RELIANCE. was an Englishwoman from Yorkshire, possessed of some fortune, the greater part of which was expended in adventurous expeditions, and some new scheme of exploration had now brought her to Fort Reliance. Having crossed the equinoctial regions, she was doubt- less anxious to penetrate to the extreme limits of the hyperborean. Her presence at the fort was an event. The governor of the Company had given her a special letter of recommendation to Captain Craventy, according to which the latter was to do all in his power to forward the design of the celebrated traveller to reach the borders of the Arctic Ocean. A grand enterprise ! To follow in the steps of Hearne, Mackenzie, Rae, Franklin, and others. What fatigues, what trials, what dangers would have to be gone through in the conflict with the terrible elements of the Polar climate ! How could a woman dare to venture where so many explorers have drawn back or perished ? But the stranger now shut up in Fort Reliance was no ordinary woman ; she was Paulina Barnett, a laureate of the Royal Society. We must add that the celebrated traveller was accompanied by a servant named Madge. This faithful creature was not merely a servant, but a devoted and courageous friend, who lived only for her mistress. A Scotchwoman of the old type, whom a Caleb might have married without loss of dignity. Madge was about five years older than Mrs Barnett, and was tall and strongly built. The two were on the most intimate terms ; Paulina looked upon Madge as an elder sister, and Madge treated Paulina ;is her daughter. It was in honour of Paulina Barnett that Captain Craventy was this evening treating his employes and the Chippeway Indians. In fact, the lady traveller was to join the expedition of Jaspar Hobson for the exploration of the north. It was for Paulina Barnett that the large saloon of the factory resounded with joyful hurrahs. And it was no wonder that the stove consumed a hundredweight of coal on this memorable evening, for the cold outside was tventy-f*>ur degrees Fahrenheit below zero, and Fort Reliance is situated in 61° 47' N. Lat., at least four degrees from the Polar circle.
