h life, and eager to escape from
the pursuit of an enemy. The rushing and crushing and grinding of the
ice, and roar of the waters was almost deafening. The masses would
assume, too, all sorts of fantastic shapes, which one, with a slight
exertion of fancy, might imagine bears, and lions, and castles, and
ships under sail--indeed all sorts of things, animate and inanimate. As
I looked up the stream, my attention was drawn to a large black object,
which I soon made out to be a vessel of the largest size which navigates
those waters. She came gliding rapidly down--now stem, now stern
foremost; now whirling round and round, and evidently beyond all
control. To my horror, I perceived as she drew near there were several
men on board. The current brought her close to the bank where I was.
By the gaunt looks and gestures of the crew, I perceived that they were
suffering from hunger. This notion was confirmed when the vessel drew
still nearer.

"`Oh, give us bread!--oh, give us bread!' they shouted, in piteous
tones. `We have had no food for these three days. We have been seven
days thus driving on, and unable to reach the shore.'

"On hearing this, I galloped along the bank, so as to get before the
vessel, and succeeded in finding some bread at some cottages a little
way on. The peasants willingly brought it out, and by my directions
endeavoured to heave it on board the vessel. Oh, it was sad to see the
eager way in which the starving wretches held out their hands for the
food, but in vain. Loaf after loaf was thrown by the strongest men
present; but the bread, which would have preserved their lives, fell
into the water, or on to the masses of ice which surrounded the vessel,
some few yards only short of her. I and others galloped on, in the
hopes that she might be driven still nearer; but, as we thought she was
approaching, the current swept her away again into the middle of the
stream. It was a melancholy exemplification of the story of Tantalus.
There were those poor famished men floating down a river in the midst
truly of plenty--for where can be found more fertile regions!--and yet
they were unable to procure a mouthful of food to appease the pangs of
hunger.

"I endeavoured to devise some plan to send them help; but all the plans
I could think of seemed hopeless. No boat could approach them, could
one have been procured, or people to man her. A stone might have
carried a thin line on board, but no thin