The Sun.
London, England, 1836-11-15 00:00:00

CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER will very soon raise the
interest on Exchequer Bills.

LITERATURE.

NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY, TO THE
SHORES OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN, 2 Vols.
Bentley, London, 1836.
These volumes are from the pen of Mr. King, and
contain a narrative of Captain Back's expedition (to
which the author acted as surgeon and naturalist) in
search of Captain Ross, which was undertaken by
order of Government in the early part of the year
1833. Some account of the expedition has already
been published by the Gallant Captain himself ; but
the subject is so replete with interest, that it will bear
more than one narrative, especially when that narrative
is so fruitful in incident,'and told in such a lively, gra-
phic spirit, as is the case with the one before us. Mr.
King started from Liverpool on the 17th February,
1833, for New York, which city he reached on
the 27th of March, after a perilous and stormy
voyage, in the course of which the crew en-
countered two enormous icebergs, one of which
was " estimated at about one thousand five hundred
feetlin length, and seventy in height." One or two of
the passengers, nobly regardless of chilblains, were
anxious to take a pleasant stroll on the summit of this
icy mountain, and even bivouck there, " in order to
enjoy—enjoy !—a nearer view of its wonders ;" the
project was, however, abandoned when they came to
consider the probability of being crushed to atoms in
their attempt to approach the chilly enormity. The
expedition halted but a few days at New York, whence
they set out for Montreal, where they arrived in a con-
dition little short of absolute dislocation, owing to their
having been compelled to travel over the most villanous
roads, in a huge waggon withont either springs or seats.
In due course of time they entered upon " the vast
waters of Lake Superior," and luckily escaping the
fogs to which it is subject, continued their route
(having exchanged their large for small canoes, at Fort
William), down the Savannah river, where they fell in
with a strolling party " of Santous Indians," who
accommodated them with a plentiful supply of stur-
geons, one of which dainties " weighing at least fifty
pounds, was purchased by one of the men for a pint of
peas." No sooner, however, was the bargain con-
cluded, than the Indians, suspecting that they had
been done, pelted the expedition with " turfs and fish-
heads"—a favourite mode among these savages of ex-
pressing dissatisfaction, and which sundry savages
much nearer home adopted the other day with Sir
John Hobhouse, at Covent-garden. On leaving the
Savannah, the expedition passed through an almost
interminable number of lakes and rivers, and on the
shores of the Buffalo Lake encountered that strange
animal, the skunk, of which the following satisfactory

acconnt is given :
" The skunk is a small, pleasing-looking animal, with a
full, bushy tail, long black hair, and a broad, white stripe
along each side. The animal resented our intrusion in the
usual way, by the discharge of a noisome fluid, of a deep,
yellow character, which emits one of the most powerful
stenches in nature. The unfortunate man who had un-
consciously brought the evil upon the party, was half stifled,
and obliged to throw his capot into the lake, well aware
that nothing would take away the smell, which that obnox-
ious secretion had occasioned. Were it not for this pecu-
liar power of annoyance, the race would soon be extir-
pated ; for the animal has a slow gait, and can be overtaken
without difficulty. When care has been taken not to soil
the carcase with any of the strong-smelling fluid, the meat
is considered by the Indians as a great dainty."
After enduring a variety of fatigues and perils, which
none but the most practised constitutions could have
borne up against, the expedition, having previously as-
certained by letters received from England, that Cap-
tain Ross had reached England in safety, prepared for
its return home, which, however, like the journey from
Montreal to the Buffalo Lake, was not accomplished
without considerable difficulty, and even danger. Mr.
King details these hazards, as no doubt he submitted
to them in a cheerful spirit, without affectation, or the
slightest attempt to extort the commiseration and
astonishment of his readers. His volumes are, in con-
sequence, very delightful reading ; are penned in a
simple, unadorned style ; and as full of stirring inci-
dents and strange surprises, as Captain Franklin's me-
morable narrative of his journey to the shores of the
Polar Sea. They are embellished with three or four
cleverish engravings.

THE GERMAN TOURIST.
:Hutt, London, 1836.

Much agreeable information may be picked up in
this volume, which is a translation from the German of
Professor Wolff. The descriptions, in particular,
of the cities of Berlin and Dantzic, and of the
famous Potsdam, celebrated as being the favourite
resort of Frederick the Great of Prussia, and whence
he dated the majority of his voluminous and com-
plimentary letters to Voltaire, are lively and copious
in no ordinary degree. The embellishments, which
are not less than seventeen in number, are for
the most part specimens of skilful engraving. The
best is the view of the Holstein Gate, Lubeck, from a
design by Vickers, who by the help, here, of a bit of
cheerful landscape, and there, of a picturesque group
or two, has contrived to give a very interesting and
life-like look to a very tame and monotonous subject,
thus falsifying the old adage, that it is impossible to
make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.