The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-07-12 00:00:00

. the bodies of his crew. his preci•tio• 'lit; allowing
them a quantity of vinegar with their meat, and
seeing. thym take every; day • portion of linsejoiee
sod Ater' mast be particularised as one great
cause of their remaining almost entirely free from
that dreadful disorder—.the ',rump His nest care
was for their minds, the health of which he wisely
considered-as having no small influence on that of
the body.
" Under circumstances of leisure and inactivity,"
Pays he, " fuch as we were now placed in, and with
every prospect of its continuance fur a very large
portion of a year, I was desirous of finding Now
amusement for the mess during this tong and tea
dious interval. I proposed, therefore, to the officer
to get up a play occasionally on board the Ueda'
as the readieot means of preserving among our
crews that cheerfulness and good-humour which
had hitherto subsisted. Is this proposal I was
readily seconded by the officers of boils 'ship.; and
Lieutenant Beechy having been duty elected as
rtage-manager, our firrt performance was fixed for
the sth of November, to the great delight of the
ships' companies. In these anutsemeuts I gladly
undertook a part myself, considering that ass exam-
ple of cheerfulness, by giving a direct countenance
to every thing that could contribute to it, was not
the least essential past of my duty, under the pe-
culiar circumstances in which we were placed.
" In order still further to promote good-humour
among ousselve., as well as to furnish amusing oc-
cupatitir during the hour. of constant darktiesr,
we set on foot a weekly newspaper, which was so be
called the North Georgia Gazette and if inter
Chronicle, and of which Captain Sabine undertook
to he the editor, under the promise that it was to be
supported by original contributions from the
°Seers of the two ships ; arid, though some objec-
tion may, perhaps, be raised against a paper of this
kind being generally resorted to is ships of war, I
was too well acquainted with the discretion, as well
HI the excellent disponi iiiii s of my officer., to appres
held any uisplearstit conrequentes from a measure
art this kind ; itistead of which I can safely say,
that the weakly contributions had the happy effect of
employing the leisure hours of those who furasiehtil
them, 111111 of diverting the mind from the r;lirorny
prospect winch would sometimes obtrude itself on
the ploatert heart."

Oil the 4th of November the sun sunk below the
horizon, taut to appear sem above it for the space
of ninety-six daya. On the .sth the theatre opened
with "Miss in her Teeny ;" and Captain Party
found so much benefit accrue to Otis men from the
ainulement the spectacle afforded them, sod the
occupation of fitting op the theatre, and taking it
down again, that their dramatic representatturs
weir punctually continued the whole of the winter,
mid performed and witnessed with equal pleasure,
even when the thermometer was below Zero on the

It seemed that the sinking of the sun below the
horizon for so long a period was a subject of painful
feeling to the animals who might consider them-
selves the lawful possessors of the islaud, as well as
to the human beings who bad sought a temporary
on it; for from that time the wolves began
to approach the ships, as if drawn thither by me-
lancholy sympathy, and would bowl most piteously
for hours together, much to the annoyance of •
beautilhl little white fox, which lied been caught
in • trap, set under the bows of the Griper, and
which, from the nervous irritability be betrayed at
the sound of their voices, seemed as if lie had been
accustomed to consider them as signals of destruc.
tion to his tribe. The wolves seldom appeared in
greater numbers than two or three together, and it
was somewhat extraordinary, that although the
whole crews were constantly, for months together,
intent on killing or catching some of them, they
never could succeed, though the wolves were con-
stant enough in their attendance to make acquaint-
ance with all the dogs belonging to the vessels.—
Only one hear was seen during the winter; it was
of the white kind, and trilekti Captain Sabine's
servant quite to the ships ; but being there saluted
by a volley •f balls, it made a retrograde motion and
escaped.

The weather now began to grow intensely ,
and during the latter part of Novetnher and the
first half of December, Captain Parry's Journal
presents little more than observations on it; and
on the meteoric appearances, and fantastic illu-
sions of light and colour, with which raiiiire seems
to amuse herself in these dreary solitudes, as if
secure from the prying impeititience of man, she
might descend to downright gambol with her
powers. At tne time the moon appeared curiously
deformed by refraction, the lower edges of its disc
seeming to be indented with deep uotches, and
afterwards to be cut oft square at the bottom;
whilst a single ray, or rather column of light, of
the same diameter us the introit, was also observed
to descend from it to the top of the bill, like a
pillar supporting It at another, light transparent
clouds were seen to emit columns alight upaarils,
resembling the Aurora Borealis ; tomtit!s the
south-east, being reprised to a eery light sky,
they had a pule•br.rwn appearaime. The Aurora
Borealis itself seldom appears to bare been
witnessed in the oplendour aid) which it oc-
casionally illuminates the Shetland Ishii, or oilier
places in the Atlantic, shut the same latitude
as our adventurers were how iii; still it sews
both frequent and vivid enough to give variety and
beauty to the long long nights they bud to endure.
The shottegt day, however, arrived, and actually
surprised both the men and officer, by the quickness
with which it seemed to come upon them : ►o hue
it is that an uoitorin life, provided it have ►ul6-
cient occupation, alw•ats appears to pr snore
swiftly than that which is chequered by a variety
of impressions; and that Captain Parry was stiffi-
manly ingenious iu providing his men with employ-
ment, is evident from a complaint accitieeitally
coming to his ears that they had not time to mend
their clothes.

The new year was ushered iii with weather com-
paratively mild; but it WWI regained its aereri4.
The scurvy now began to appeur io a few instaices;
but by the judicious tredinient of Mr. Edwards
and hie assistants, it was prevented from making
any dangerous progress. Among the remedies
prescribed, in ►uch a situation, our readers would
scarcely expect to find fresh rulading; it was,
nevertheless, not only prescribed but procured,
by memos of boxes filled with mould, and
placed along the pipe of the stove in the cabin.
By this means they were enabled, teen in that