The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-02-20
LITERATURE.
REVIEW OF NEW BOOKS.

after delay of five years incident to the war,
been laid before the public. The causes which
have kept until now the record of the expe-
aition unknown to the public, reflect great
credit on the patriotism of the author Ar
Tiving from his Arctic trip just in time to
hear news of the defeat at Balls Bluff, he at
once offered his services to the Government,
and has devoted all his time and attention to
the duties of hospital surgeon. We doubt
however whether his work will suffer in its
popularity because of the delay. The engross
ing topics of the war have died away, and we
naturally turn to scientific subjects and nara
lions of adventures. The appearance of the
work of DR.. Hayes is peculiarly welcome
The expedition under his command started
from Boston on the 9th of July, 1850, and re-
turned to that port in October, 1861. During
This time, with his little schooner United States,
he had penetrated further than any other
Northern explorer, and had sighted the Open
Polar Sea. Although many of the incidents
given in such a work must be similar to those
related by Dr. Kane, yet the book is written
in very pleasant STYLE and contains many
scientific and botanical discoveries never before
made public. Yet the style in which the
work is written is pleasing, and the stories
told are graphic and amusing. We quote a
few pages illustrating the anecdotes which are
told in the book
The men have been busy sewing up seal-skins
into coats, pantaloons, and boots, to complete
their winter wardrobe They have tried very
hard to get Mrs. Hans to do this work for them,
but the indolent creature persistently refusest to
sew stitch She is the most obstinate of her
sex; feels perfectly independent of everything
and of everybody; pouts hercely when she is
not pleased, and gets the Sulks about once
fortnight when she declares most positively
that she will abandon Hans and the white men
once tried the experiment. and started off at
rapid rate with her baby on her back, towards
Cape Alexander. There had evidently been
domestic spat Hans came out of his tent as If
nothing had happened, and stood at the win
her in the most unconcerned manner in the
world. AS she tripped off south l called his
attention to her:
"Yes-me see."
''Where is she going, Hans?"
"She no go. She come baclx-all right"
''She no freeze She come back by by-you
see."
And he went on smoking his pipe with
quiet chuckle which told how well he under
stood the whims OF ms 9eloyea' dwo hoars
meek and very cold, for the wind was blowing
in her face.
by turns at the wash-tub, to have clean turn
out for Sunday, on which day, even in this re-
his best, and at Sunday morning muster my
people present very neat and creditable ap-
adopted as dress,suit is always worn on that
occasion, both by officers and men. Each
officer has q sailor for q ''washerwoman," and
have mine; and Knorr has just brought me in
the most encouraging accounts of his Skill and
came in out of the moonlight from a tramp to
the open water (where l had been making
some observations for temperature) we'll
Starched and neatly-ironed cambric handker-
chief, sprinkled with cologne.
The day, for some reason or other seems to
have been peculiarly bright and cheerful to
everybody, and the cheerfulness runs on into
the evening. fancy that our old cook was In
this has had something to do with it, For my
own part, must acknowledge the power of his
My walk to the open water was both cold and
fatigulng. Desiring to get out as far as could,
L sprang over the loose ice-tables. and reached
an iceberg near 1.-The Twins" which mounted;
and, after digging a hole into it, found that it
had a temperature only 50 lower than the tenn
perature of the water that foated it, which was
29o. Iscrambled back to the fast ice as quickly
as 1 could, for the tide and wind, which was
strong from the land. looked very much as if
they intended to carry the raft out sea.
To come back to the cook-I was in condi-
tion upon my return to do ample justice to q
hllet of venison, garnished with currant-ielly,
which was awaiting me, and upon the prepara-
tion of which the cook had evidently exhausted
all his skill and afterwards Knorr made for
me, with my alcohol furnace, a cup of aromatic
Mocha.
And so one may find pleasure even where
Bacchus and Cupid deign not to come. True
wandered after the decree of Olympus made
him an exile and where the Hellenic poets
dreamed of men living TO an incredible age, in
the enjoyment of all possible felicity; but to
say the truth, question the wisdom of the
banished god, as tradition makes no mention
OF a schooner, and find that in this "Residence
of Boreas" one must look out for himself pretty
Sharply-poets to the contrary Notwithstanding.
The cook brought me the dinner himself. ~
thinks de Commander likes dis" said he,
looming from de cold.7
Yes, cook it is really superb. Now, what
can do for your"
'Tank you, sar 1 thinks if de Commander
would only be so KIND as to give me'a clean
shirt, l shall be very tanlkful. He see dis one
be very dirty. and gets no time to wash him"
certainly, cook, you shall have two"
rank you, sar !'--and he bends himself half
double, meaning ii for q bow, and goes back
well pleased to his stove and his coppers.
Our cook is quite a character. He is much
the oldest man on board, and is the most singu-
lar mixture OF adverse moral qualities that L
have ever CHANGED to meet. He makes it his
boast that he has never been off the ship,s deck
since leaving Boston. "Nat should 90 ashore
tor?" said he, one day, to some of the officers
who were reciting to him the wonders of the
land. "Me go ashore De land be very good
place to grow de vegetables but il no place 10
be. i never goes ashore ven L can helm in and
please my Hebenly Fader / never will. y -
have passed an hour of the evening vary
pleasantly with the officers in their cabin have
had my usual game of chess with Knorr and
now, having done with this journal for the dav
will coil myself up in my nest of furs and read
In Marco Polo OF those parts OF the world where
people live without an effort, know not the use
of bear skins, and die of fever. After all, ones
lines might fall in less pleasant places than in
the midst OF an Arctic winter
The Esquimaux character is but imperfectiy
understood, and the narrative of DR.. Hayes
abounds with word pictures Of these curious