Second Scene.

The Hut of the _Sea-mew_.

Chapter 6.


Good-by to England! Good-by to inhabited and civilized regions of
the earth!

Two years have passed since the voyagers sailed from their native
shores. The enterprise has failed--the Arctic expedition is lost
and ice-locked in the Polar wastes. The good ships _Wanderer_ and
_Sea-mew_, entombed in ice, will never ride the buoyant waters
more. Stripped of their lighter timbers, both vessels have been
used for the construction of huts, erected on the nearest land.

The largest of the two buildings which now shelter the lost men
is occupied by the surviving officers and crew of the _Sea-mew_.
On one side of the principal room are the sleeping berths and the
fire-place. The other side discloses a broad doorway (closed by a
canvas screen), which serves as a means of communication with an
inner apartment, devoted to the superior officers. A hammock is
slung to the rough raftered roof of the main room, as an extra
bed. A man, completely hidden by his bedclothes, is sleeping in
the hammock. By the fireside there is a second man--supposed to
be on the watch--fast asleep, poor wretch! at the present moment.
Behind the sleeper stands an old cask, which serves for a table.
The objects at present on the table are, a pestle and mortar, and