SOME years ago， large ships were sent towardsthe north pole， to explore the distant coasts，and to try how far men could penetrate into thoseunknown regions. For more than a year one ofthese ships had been pushing its way northward，amid snow and ice， and the sailors had enduredmany hardships; till at length winter set in， andthe sun entirely disappeared; for many weeks therewould be constant night. All around， as far as the eye could reach， nothing could be seenbut fields of ice， in which the ship remained stuck fast. The snow lay piled up in GREat heaps，and of these the sailors made huts， in the form of bee-hives， some of them as large andspacious as one of the “Huns' graves，” and others only containing room enough to hold threeor four men. It was not quite dark; the northern lights shot forth red and blue flames， likecontinuous fireworks， and the snow glittered， and reflected back the light， so that thenight here was one long twilight. When the moon was brightest， the natives came in crowds tosee the sailors. They had a very singular appearance in their rough， hairy dresses of fur，and riding in sledges over the ice. They brought with them furs and skins in great abundance，so that the snow-houses were soon provided with warm carpets， and the furs also served forthe sailors to wrap themselves in， when they slept under the roofs of snow， while outside itwas freezing with a cold far more severe than in the winter with us. In our country it was stillautumn， though late in the season; and they thought of that in their distant exile， andoften pictured to themselves the yellow leaves on the trees at home. Their watches pointed tothe hours of evening， and time to go to sleep， although in these regions it was now alwaysnight.
In one of the huts， two of the men laid themselves down to rest. The younger of thesemen had brought with him from home his best， his dearest treasure—a Bible， which hisgrandmother had given him on his departure. Every night the sacred volume rested under hishead， and he had known from his childhood what was written in it. Every day he read in thebook， and while stretched on his cold couch， the holy words he had learnt would come intohis mind： “If I take the wings of the morning， and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea，even there Thou art with me， and Thy right hand shall uphold me;” and under the influenceof that faith which these holy words inspired， sleep came upon him， and dreams， which arethe manifestations of God to the spirit. The soul lives and acts， while the body is at rest. Hefelt this life in him， and it was as if he heard the sound of dear， well-known melodies， as ifthe breezes of summer floated around him; and over his couch shone a ray of brightness， asif it were shining through the covering of his snow-roof. He lifted his head， and saw that thebright gleaming was not the reflection of the glittering snow， but the dazzling brightness ofthe pinions of a mighty angel， into whose beaming face he was gazing. As from the cup of alily， the angel rose from amidst the leaves of the Bible; and， stretching out his arm， thewalls of the hut sunk down， as though they had been formed of a light， airy veil of mist，and the GREen hills and meadows of home， with its ruddy woods， lay spread around him inthe quiet sunshine of a lovely autumn day. The nest of the stork was empty， but ripe fruit stillhung on the wild apple-tree， although the leaves had fallen. The red hips gleamed on thehedges， and the starling which hung in the green cage outside the window of the peasant'shut， which was his home， whistled the tune which he had taught him. His grandmother hunggreen birds'-food around the cage， as he， her grandson， had been accustomed to do. Thedaughter of the village blacksmith， who was young and fair， stood at the well， drawingwater. She nodded to the grandmother， and the old woman nodded to her， and pointed to aletter which had come from a long way off. That very morning the letter had arrived from thecold regions of the north; there， where the absent one was sweetly sleeping under theprotecting hand of God. They laughed and wept over the letter; and he， far away， amid iceand snow， under the shadow of the angel's wings， wept and smiled with them in spirit; forhe saw and heard it all in his dream. From the letter they read aloud the words of Holy Writ： “In the uttermost parts of the sea， Thy right hand shall uphold me.” And as the angel spreadhis wings like a veil over the sleeper， there was the sound of beautiful music and a hymn.Then the vision fled. It was dark again in the snow-hut： but the Bible still rested beneath hishead， and faith and hope dwelt in his heart. God was with him， and he carried home in hisheart， even “in the uttermost parts of the sea.”