eight o'clock
A telegram to the wife of the new captain of the Mercedes , conveyed to Baltimore the news of the death of her brother-in-law . Of course the party received much attention , and for a few days they were the lions of the city , although tales of adventure on the ice are of too frequent occurrence in St. John 's , to awaken any lasting interest ; for scarcely a winter elapses without the arrival of one or more crews who have seen their vessel disappear beneath the resistless pressure of colliding icebergs . At last the expected draft arrived , and the party were to leave for Halifax the next day in the Cunard steamer . La Salle had invited Captain Randall to spend the evening in a private parlor of the hotel , and at eight o'clock he was ushered in , and found no other guest save his first mate , Mr. Blake , who was still first officer of the Mercedes . The table was well spread with delicacies , and although some constraint existed , the wine did its work , and soon Blake and Randall were laughing and joking , as if no cause for ill-feeling existed between them . At Randall 's request La Salle gave a summary of their adventures , concluding the recital as follows : -- `` Thus passed the long days of our anxious drift , until your vessel steamed back to her old sealing-ground , and we left forever behind us our ice-built hut and the Deadman 's Berg . '' The effect was magical .