Fred Ellice, too, thought of his father, and this abrupt check to the
search, and his spirits sank again as his hopes decayed. But poor Fred,
like the others, at last discovered that it was of no use to repine, and
that it was best to face his sorrows and difficulties "like a man!"
Alas! poor human nature; how difficult do we find it to face sorrows and
difficulties _cheerfully_, even when we do conscientiously try! Well
would it be for all of us could we submit to such, not only because
they are inevitable, but because they are the will of God--of him who
has asserted in his own Word that "he afflicteth not the children of men
willingly."
Among so many men there were all shades of character, and the fact that
they were doomed to a year's imprisonment in the Frozen Regions was
received in very different ways. Some looked grave and thought of it
seriously; others laughed and treated it lightly; a few grumbled and
spoke profanely; but most of them became quickly reconciled, and in a
week or two nearly all forgot the past and the future in the duties, and
cares, and amusements of the present. Captain Guy and his officers,
however, and a few of the more sedate men, among whom were Buzzby and
Peter Grim, looked forward with much anxiety, knowing full well the
dangers and trials that lay before them.
It is true the ship was provisioned for more than a year, but most of
the provisions were salt, and Tom Singleton could have told them, had
they required to be told, that without fresh provisions they stood a
poor chance of escaping that dire disease scurvy, before which have
fallen so many gallant tars whom nothing in the shape of dangers or
difficulties could subdue.
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