ADVENTURE.

WRECKED ON AN ICEBERG.

I HAD just been relieved from my watch*, and was finding my way forward, knocking my hands against my sides to warm them, when there was a loud cry from the look-out men of "A ship a-head, standing right for us under all sail."

Andrew Thompson, who was standing close to me, had been peering into the gloom a-head. "A sail!" he exclaimed, "that's no sail, but an iceberg-I see its light. We might have weathered † it, but now it is too late; and heaven have mercy on our souls!"

As he spoke a loud, fearful crash was heard the stout ship shook and trembled in every timber. I was thrown, as were all near me, to the deck, with stunning force. Shrieks and cries arose from every part of the ship, and the watch below came hurrying up on deck, many without their clothes. All was dismay and confusion. The terrific noise of the wind, and of the sea dashing over the ship, added to the cries of distress, almost drowned the voices of the officers, who were rushing here and there in vain efforts to restore order. Many of the people, in their fright, sprang overboard, and were instantly swallowed up by the waves. The ship

* Watch, turn of work.
t Weathered, sheered clear off.

rose and fell with tremendous force, and the loud crashing forward showed that her strong bows* had been cracked like a nut.

Then arose a terrific cry that the ship was sinking, and that all was lost. Jumping on the forecastlef, we ran along the bowsprit, whence we dropped down one by one upon a part of the iceberg which the waves did not reach. The ice was very rough, and we were thus enabled to scramble up, perfectly clear of the sea.

Several others attempted to follow our example, and the marinest, even at that awful moment, obedient to their orders, commenced firing on them. The flash of their muskets showed the whole dreadful scene for an instant; and never will it be effaced from my memory. The ship lay with her bow run high upon the berg. The dark ocean and the white crested waves dashed over her stern. There stood a mass of human beings, in all the attitudes of despair and dismay. Then again above our heads rose the white shining iceberg, which at every flash seemed to glow with flames of fire; the bright light danced from pinnacle to pinnacle, and far into the hollow caverns of its huge sides. Slowly at last the proud ship glided from the icy shelf on which she had been cast, down into the far depths of the ocean. Soon all that had remained in her were engulphed beneath the greedy waves. No helping hand could we offer to any of our shipmates. In another instant, as we gazed where our ship had been, a blank was before us.

I can scarcely picture the horrors of that night; I would fain indeed forget them, but that is impossible. We had preserved our lives for the present; but what could we further expect, but to die of hunger? We had also read

*Bows, the bulging forepart of a ship.

† Forecastle, the raised deck on the forepart of a ship.
Marines, ship-soldiers.

and heard enough of icebergs to know, that, as they are driven to the southern seas, they rapidly melt away.

Morning at last dawned; and what a change from the previous day! Then, all had been storm and gloom. Now, all around was calm, beautiful, and bright. Before the sun rose, the whole eastern sky was glowing with an orange tinge. Every fleecy cloud around was tinted with gold and red, orange, and pink, while the clear portions of the sky itself were of the purest blue. The sea mirrored these lovely colors.

But still more beautiful and wonderful seemed the vast mountain of ice on which we floated, as it appeared towering over us. The pinnacles and turrets of the summit were tinted with the glowing hues of the east; lower down, the columns and arches which supported them seemed formed of the purest alabaster. Around us on either side, appeared vast caverns and grottos, their entrances fringed with drooping icicles, glittering brilliantly.

It is not to be wondered at if we did not then admire the enchanting spectacle as much as it deserved; for we could not forget that we were floating on an iceberg in the middle of the North Sea, far from food and hope.

THE RESCUE.

After long and anxious watching, a sail hove in sight: we hastily built a frail raft of some loose spars that had been saved from the wreck. We might have made a mile an hour, perhaps not so much, and we had at least three miles to go: still, we did not get wearied. Each of us chewed a piece of seal's flesh to stay our hunger, but we had no power to swallow. We scarcely spoke a word all the time, but every now and then turned a glance backward, to judge how far we had got from our late prison of ice.

One mile was passed, and we were still not noticed by

the stranger-ship; indeed, so small a speck were we on the ocean, we could not expect to be observed till the sun had risen. Our great anxiety was about the wind; still the sea continued smooth as glass.

On we went-our eyes on the ship's sails. Alas! a light cat's-paw * skimmed across the ocean- -the sails of the barque blew out, and cruelly carried her still further away.

Oh! with what agony we saw the topsails bulge out, and the barque's head turn away from us! We all shouted together, or rather shrieked out in our eagerness: it was of no use. We strove to drive the raft on faster than before. What could our utmost endeavours avail in overtaking a ship, her sails filled even with the light air then blowing? No longer were cat's-paws playing on the surface of the sea, but small waves were covering every part of it; and as we worked our way among them, they washed around our feet.

Every sail on board the barque began to draw, and she made rapid way. Alas! we were not seen, and hope, which had hitherto kept up our spirits, fled. Our hearts sank, and scarcely could we longer ply our feeble oars.

"Andrew, what say you to this?" asked Terence, at length.

"Persevere to the last, like men," replied Andrew; 66 we may have to return to the iceberg, but even then we must not lose courage, or our trust in Providence."

Just then the sun rose from his watery bed in an unclouded sky. I looked back to see how far we had got from the iceberg. Truly, if it had appeared beautiful when we were on it, doubly so did it appear now, glittering in the beams of the sun; some parts of alabaster whiteness and the rest tinged with hues of gold, and pink, and transparent blue.

*Cat's-paw, a momentary ripple.