I am already far north of London, and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh,I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves andfills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which hastravelled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretasteof those icy climes. Inspirited by this wind of promise, my daydreams becomemore fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as theregion of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is forever visible, itsbroad disk just skirting the horizon and diffusing a perpetual splendour. boxer pas cher homme
Therefor with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in precedingnavigatorsthere snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, wemay be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every regionhitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its productions and features may bewithout example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are inthose undiscovered solitudes. What may not be expected in a country of eternallight? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle andmay regulate a thousand celestial observations that require only this voyage torender their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate myardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited,and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man. These are myenticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death andto induce me to commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels whenhe embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates, on an expedition ofdiscovery up his native river. canvas shoes for men But supposing all these conjectures to be false,you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind,to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to thosecountries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or byascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only beeffected by an undertaking such as mine.These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which I began my letter,and I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven, fornothing contributes so much to tranquillize the mind as a steady purposeapoint on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. This expedition has beenthe favourite dream of my early years. I have read with ardour the accounts ofthe various voyages which have been made in the prospect of arriving at theNorth Pacific Ocean through the seas which surround the pole. You may rememberthat a history of all the voyages made for purposes of discovery composed thewhole of our good Uncle Thomas' library. cheap toms shoes
My education was neglected, yet I waspassionately fond of reading. These volumes were my study day and night, and myfamiliarity with them increased that regret which I had felt, as a child, onlearning that my father's dying injunction had forbidden my uncle to allow meto embark in a seafaring life.These visions faded when I perused, for the first time, those poets whoseeffusions entranced my soul and lifted it to heaven. I also became a poet andfor one year lived in a paradise of my own creation; I imagined that I alsomight obtain a niche in the temple where the names of Homer and Shakespeare areconsecrated. You are well acquainted with my failure and how heavily I bore thedisappointment. buy toms shoes But just at that time I inherited the fortune of my cousin, andmy thoughts were turned into the channel of their earlier bent. Six years have passed since I resolved on my present undertaking. I can, evennow, remember the hour from which I dedicated myself to this great enterprise.I commenced by inuring my body to hardship. I accompanied the whalefishers onseveral expeditions to the North Sea; I voluntarily endured cold, famine,thirst, and want of sleep; I often worked harder than the common sailors duringthe day and devoted my nights to the study of mathematics, the theory ofmedicine, and those branches of physical science from which a naval adventurermight derive the greatest practical advantage.