from Italy, Turkey, Greece, and Egypt; but whenever the Dutch came close to Spain there was sure to be some great Spanish galleon, the crew of which quietly seized them, threw all the sailors overboard, and took the ship away. For some time the people of Holland were very despondent, for they feared they were all going to be ruined. Presently, how

ever, some of them looked at the map, and rubbed their hands with delight. 'Why,' they said, 'we need not go past Spain to get to China or America. Look at this map. There is a large sea above Norway, where nobody has ever been yet. Now, there is no doubt that this sea goes somewhere; and if the earth is round, and we sail far enough, we must at last get out on the other side, and get that way to China and America. We will provide the ships. Who will go and try this new route?' They needed not to ask very long. There were plenty of men to risk their lives in this undertaking, for everybody felt that the existence of the country was at stake.

On the 2nd of July, 1595, a small fleet of seven vessels, the largest of which was only a cutter of one hundred tons, set sail from Texel for the Arctic regions, determined to find their way to China. The fleet was led by the 'Greyhound' of Amsterdam. The captain was William Barends, a most courageous and experienced seaman, and the super-cargo, or commissioner on behalf of the Amsterdam merchants, was our old friend Jacob van Heemskerk.

On the 19th of August they arrived safely in the

Straits of Waygatz, but the hopes which had inspired them seemed to sink at the sight of the land. They went on shore, but not a person was to be seen. There was nothing but snow and ice, glittering in the sun, and surrounding them on all sides. It floated on the water in thin sheets, it covered the land, it seemed even to fill the heavens. They had before landing seen some figures ashore, but when they approached the spot they found nothing but a few sledges, loaded with reindeer skins and leather bags full of oil-the owners having fled in terror. In order to allay the fears of the natives they left everything untouched, put some bread and cheese by the side of the sledges, and returned to their ships. This had the desired effect. Next day, when they went on shore, a whole party in sledges drawn by reindeer came to meet them, and, having got out, approached them with many smiles and curtsies, which betokened friendship. Happily there was amongst the crew one man who could speak the native language, and who put many questions to them. One amongst the Samoyedes, for that was the name of the people, told him of many countries and rivers, and described how, if they sailed far enough, they could get from a cold sea into a warm sea until they reached a new land. The savages, who were dressed in skins, received many presents, and they parted the best of friends.

This information was exactly what Heemskerk and his friends wanted, and they consequently returned to their ships in very high spirits, determined to make

their way through this cold sea to a warmer climate. But next morning, what a disappointment! The sea was full of immense blocks of ice, as hard as steel, a dense fog prevented them from seeing each other, a strong wind began to blow, and they were at their wits' end which way to turn. For three days they tried their utmost to sail in the direction indicated by the Samoyedes, but the ice was too strong for them. On the 6th of September the sailors on Heemskerk's ship asked permission to land on the island they were passing, to gather some beautiful crystals; and about thirty of them set out in a boat for that purpose. Now these crystals were only to be found in the crevices and splits of the rock, wherefore it was necessary for the sailors to throw themselves down and insert their hands in the opening. While two of them were thus engaged, talking of home, and how pleasant it would be to sell the crystals for a large sum of money, one of them suddenly uttered a sharp cry. The other pulled his hand back out of the rock, and looked at his mate in astonishment, when to his horror he found him in the grasp of a terrific animal, twice as big as himself, whose powerful limbs were crushing his comrade to death. Half dead himself with fright, the sailor ran down the rock to where he had left his comrades, shouting to them all the while. Hearing the cries of their mate, the others ran towards him, wondering what could be the matter. Breathless with excitement and terror the poor fellow told his story, pointing at the same time towards the rock where he had lately

been; and there sure enough a huge animal was doing something they could not make out. In an instant everybody was ready to go to the rescue. Some ran to the boat and got out the heavy oars, others seized the boat-hooks, others, again, had brought spears with them, some had swords, some axes, everybody was armed somehow, and eager to save their comrade. They divided in three groups, and approached the rock. As they drew nearer they saw with horror that the monster was sitting on his haunches, sucking the poor fellow's blood. They gave a yell. The bear looked up quietly, and, having eyed his enemies, went on with his occupation. This gave the party courage, and they approached from different sides. Suddenly the bear jumped up. He was a gigantic animal, and his jaws when he opened them were full of strong teeth. He uttered a low growl, and ran towards the strongest party. A panic seized them, and they fled towards the boat. The others followed, trying to attack the bear; but he suddenly turned round, and rushed at them, growling all the time. They too were seized with fear, and bolted for the ship, while the third party, who were now left alone, dodged him and got out of his way as well as they could. One of them, however, who could not run very fast, stumbled, fell, and before he could get up and escape the bear had seized him with his terrific claws, and killed him. The party returned to shore as soon as they could fetch their muskets, and managed to shoot the monster, after a combat of