very suddenly, should prevent our return, added considerably to the dull and tedious monotony which, day after day, presented itself. To the southward was the sea, covered with one unbroken surface of ice, uniform in its dazzling whiteness, except that, in some parts, a few hummocks were seen thrown up somewhat above the general level. Nor did the land offer much greater variety, being entirely covered with snow, except here and there a brown patch of bare ground in some exposed situations, where the wind had not allowed the snow to remain. When viewed from the summit of the neighbouring hills, on one of those calm and clear days, which not unfrequently occurred during the winter, the scene was such as to induce contemplations which had, perhaps, more of melancholy than of any other feeling.
“Not an object was to be seen on which the eye could long rest with pleasure, unless when directed to the spot where the ships lay, and where our little colony was planted. The smoke which there issued from the several fires, affording a certain indication of the presence of man, gave a partial cheerfulness to this part of the prospect; and the sound of voices, which, during the cold weather, could be heard at a much greater distance than usual, served now and then to break the silence which reigned around us, a silence far different from that peaceable composure which characterizes the landscape of a cultivated country; it was the death-like stillness of the most dreary desolation, and the total absence of animated existence.
“In the afternoon, the men were usually occupied in drawing and knotting yarns, and in making points and gaskets; a never-failing resource, where mere occupation is required, and which it was necessary to perform entirely on the lower deck, the yarns becoming so hard and brittle, when exposed on deck to the temperature of the atmosphere, as to be too stiff for working, and very easily broken.
“At half-past 5 in the evening, the decks were cleared up; and at 6, we again beat to divisions, when the same examination of the men, and of their berths and bed-places, was made, as in the morning; the people then went to their supper, and the officers to tea. After this time, the men were permitted to amuse themselves as they pleased; and frames of various kinds, as well as dancing and singing occasionally, went on upon the lower deck till nine o’clock, when they went to bed, and their lights were extinguished. * * * *. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the evening occupations of the officers were of a more rational kind than those which engaged the attention of the men. Of these, reading and writing were the principal, to which were occasionally added a game of chess, or a tune on the flute or violin, till half-past ten, about which time we all retired to rest.
