the situation in a cool sailor like way which showed that while the danger he had an eye for every of escape my lads he said no doubt you think i brought you into this fix if it is a fix and maybe some of you feel bitter against me on account of it but you must remember that for many a season no ship that comes to the country has brought in as much oil money as the old pole star and every one of you has had his share of it you can leave our wives behind you in the captain of the pole star comfort e other poor fellows come back to find their on the parish if you have to thank me for the one you have to thank me for the other and we may call it we ve tried a bold venture before this and succeeded so now that we ve tried one and failed we ve no cause to cry out about it if the worst comes to the worst we can make the land across the ice and lay in a stock of which will keep us alive until the spring it won t come to that though for you ll see the scotch coast again before three weeks are out at present every man must go on half share and share alike and no favour to any keep up your hearts and you ll pull through this as you ve pulled through many a danger before these few simple words of his had a wonderful effect upon the crew his former was forgotten and the old whom i have already mentioned for his superstition led off three cheers which were heartily joined in by all hands september i th � the wind has round to the north during the night and the ice shows some symptoms of opening out the men are in a good in spite of the short allowance upon which they have been placed steam is kept up in the engine room that there may be no delay should an opportunity for escape present itself the captain is in spirits though he still that wild expression which i have already remarked upon this burst of cheerfulness me more than his former gloom i cannot understand it i think i mentioned in an the captain of the pole star early part of this journal that one of his is that he never any person to enter his cabin but upon making his own bed such as it is and performing every other for himself to my surprise he handed me the key to day and requested me to go down there and take the time by his while he measured the of the sun at noon it is a bare little room containing a and a few books but little else in the way of luxury except some pictures upon the walls the majority of these are small cheap but there was one water colour sketch of the head of a young lady which arrested my attention it was evidently a portrait and not one of those fancy types of female beauty which sailors particularly affect no artist could have from his own mind such a curious mixture of character and weakness the languid dreamy eyes with their drooping lashes and the broad low brow by thought or care were in strong contrast with the clean cut prominent jaw and the resolute set of the lower lip underneath it in one of the corners was written m b set that any one in the short space of nineteen years of existence could develop such strength of will as was stamped upon her face seemed to me at the time to be incredible she must have been an extraordinary woman her features have thrown such a over me that though i had but a fleeting glance at them i could were i a them line for line upon this page of the journal i wonder i the captain of the pole star what part she has played in our captain s life he has hung her picture at the end of his berth so that his eyes continually rest upon it were he a less reserved man i should make some remark upon the subject of the other things in his cabin there was nothing worthy of mention � uniform coats a small looking glass tobacco box and numerous pipes including an oriental � which by the � bye gives some colour to mr s story about his in the war though the connection may seem rather a distant one p m � captain just gone to bed after a long and interesting conversation on general topics when he chooses he can be a most fascinating companion being remarkably well read and having the power of expressing his opinion forcibly without appearing to be i hate to have my intellectual toes trod upon he spoke about the nature of the soul and out the views of and upon the in a manner he seems to have a leaning for and the doctrines of in discussing them we touched upon modern and i made some joking allusion to the of upon which to my surprise he warned me most against the innocent with the guilty and argued that it would be as logical to brand christianity as an error because who professed that religion was a villain he shortly afterwards bade me good night and retired to his room the captain of the pole star the wind is up and blows steadily from the north the nights are as dark now as they are in england i hope to morrow may set us free from our frozen september � the again thank heaven that i have strong nerves i the superstition of these poor fellows and the accounts which they give with the utmost earnestness and self conviction would any man 