ay at that game,' and down he dived. Presently
up again he came, with some twenty or more companions, and with the
greatest fury they set on the boat with their tusks, and tried to
capsize her. My father and the rest of the crew fought desperately with
boat-hook and axes, but they were getting the worst of it, and well-nigh
gave themselves up as lost, when another boat was seen coming along the
channel towards them. On she dashed; a young officer, a very little
fellow, with an axe in his hand, sprang to the bows, and began dealing
his blows right and left at the heads of the walruses till several were
killed, when the rest dived down and took to flight. That young lad was
Nelson. Soon after this, one morning he and another boy were missed
from the ship. It was reported that they had gone away in pursuit of a
bear which had been seen prowling about. A thick fog had come on, and
they did not return. The captain began to think that they were lost,
and a party was sent out to look for them. After wandering about for
some time, the fog cleared off, and there was Mr Nelson, with a ship's
musket in his hand, close up to a big white polar bear, who could have
made mincemeat of him in a moment. The party shouted to him to return,
but he wouldn't listen to them; and they expected every moment to see
the bear turn and crush him. Still on he went, moving sideways with the
bear. When they got up, they found that there was a wide chasm which
had prevented him from getting closer to the animal. They led him back
to the ship, and when the captain asked him why he had gone, he
answered, with a pouting lip, that he had set his heart on getting a
bear's skin for his father, and that he didn't think he should have a
better opportunity.

"The captain reprimanded, but forgave him. There were greater dangers
in store both for him and all in the expedition; and for a long time
they had little hope of getting the ships clear of the ice. Mr Nelson
exerted himself to cut a channel to let them escape; and at length a
favourable wind getting up, they stood clear of it just as it was
expected that they would be frozen in. They found themselves free, and
reached England in safety. Mr Nelson had nearly been killed by the
cold, and now he was to be tried by the scorching climate of the Indian
seas. Such are the rapid changes we seamen have to undergo. He was
appointed to the `Seahorse,' and out she went to the Indian station.
The cli