he North-West; and Mr John Leagues, a young apprentice
clerk, going, like myself, to try his fortune in Hudson Bay. He was a
fine, candid young fellow, full of spirit, with a kind, engaging
disposition. From the first moment I saw him I formed a friendship for
him, which was destined to ripen into a lasting one many years after. I
sighed on parting from him that evening, thinking that we should never
meet again; but about six years from the time I bade him farewell in
Hudson Straits, I again grasped his hand on the shores of the mighty St.
Lawrence, and renewed a friendship which afforded me the greatest
pleasure I enjoyed in the country, and which, I trust, neither time nor
distance will ever lessen or destroy.

We spent the evening delightfully, the more so that we were not likely
to have such an opportunity again, as the _Prince of Wales_ would
shortly part company from us, and direct her course to Moose Factory, in
James Bay, while we should proceed across Hudson Bay to York Factory.
We left the ship just as a few cats-paws on the surface of the water
gave indications of a coming breeze.

Ice now began to surround us in all directions; and soon after this I
saw, for the first time, that monster of the Polar Seas, an iceberg. It
was a noble sight. We passed quite close, and had a fine opportunity of
observing it. Though not so large as they are frequently seen, it was
beautifully and fantastically formed. High peaks rose from it on
various places, and down its sides streams of water and miniature
cataracts flowed in torrents. The whole mass was of a delicate
greenish-white colour, and its lofty pinnacles sparkled in the moonbeams
as it floated past, bending majestically in the swell of the ocean.
About this time, too, we met numerous fields and floes of ice, to get
through which we often experienced considerable difficulty.

My favourite amusement, as we thus threaded our way through the ice, was
to ascend to the royal-yard, and there to sit and cogitate whilst gazing
on the most beautiful and romantic scenes.

It is impossible to convey a correct idea of the beauty, the
magnificence, of some of the scenes through which we passed. Sometimes
thousands of the most grotesque, fanciful, and beautiful icebergs and
icefields surrounded us on all sides, intersected by numerous serpentine
canals, which glittered in the sun (for the weather was fine nearly all
the time we were in the straits), like threads of silv