282 THE WORLD OF ICE.

us a leadin’ article in your nixt—so no more at
present from—
Yours to command,
JoHN Buzzpy.

This contribution was accompanied with an outline
illustration of Mivins eating sugar with a ladle in the
pantry, and Davie Summers peeping in at the door—
both likenesses being excellent.

Some of the articles in the Arctic Sun were grave
and some were gay, but all of them were profitable,
for Fred took care that they should be charged either

oO
a

with matter of interest or matter provocative of mirth.
And, assuredly, no newspaper of similar calibre was
ever looked forward to with such expectation, or read
and re-read with such avidity. It was one of the
xpedients that lasted longest in keeping up the
spirits of the men.

The rat-hunting referred to in the foregoing “ sum-
mary” was not a mere fiction of Buzzby’s brain. Tt
was a veritable fact. Notwithstanding the extreme
cold of this inhospitable climate, the rats in the ship
inereased to such a degree that at last they became a
perfect nuisance. Nothing was safe from their attacks
—whether substances were edible or not, they were
gnawed through and ruined

 

and their impudence,
which scemed to increase with their numbers, at last
exceeded all belief. They swarmed everywhere—
under the stove, about the beds, in the lockers, be-
tween the sofa cushions, amongst the moss round the