nearly 1,000 feet, he found that the north side of the Sound was composed of a group of islands, some of considerable dimensions. Two small openings, so marked at least on the charts, were discovered to be extensive inlets stretching away to the northward and north eastward. Far as the eye could reach an unbroken horizon met the gaze, and no sign of ice or obstruction into an open strait or inland sea could be detected. These two inlets were named after Sir Roderick Murchison and Sir Francis Beaufort. Taking advantage of the open state of the ice, Captain Inglefield dashed boldly on to the northward, in the direction of Smith's Sound, making Cape Alexander on the 26th.

"We had no sooner," says the commander, "fairly opened the Sound, than I involuntarily exclaimed, this must lead into the great Polynia of the Russians; and as the eye strained forward into the clear expanse of арраrently open water, which now occupied from seven to eight points of the compass due north of our position, I could not but admit to my own mind that a great sea was beyond.

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This strait marked so narrow on our charts, by measurement I found to be about thirty-six miles across, and now I pushed eagerly on to a further view of this noble inlet.'

The natural snow-clad aspect of the bleak cliffs that surround the head of the bay, seemed changed by the presence of a more genial clime, the side of Cape Alexander itself being streaked with bright green grasses and moss, and the neighbouring hills to the northward were black instead of snow-capped, evidently of secondary formation. The discoveries made by Captain Inglefield comprise 600 miles of new coast line. He also remained within the arctic circle two months later than the Government expedition under Captain Austin the previous year, having reached it three months later; and yet accomplished (independent of sailing) 1,474 miles under steam, bringing home with him still sixty-six tons of fuel.

Sir Francis Beaufort, the hydrographer to the Admiralty, in his report, speaking of these important surveys performed, says of Smith's Sound, "This may well be called a valuable discovery, for Baffin merely saw a break in the coast, and Ross and Parry could only just perceive the looming of the mountains at the distance of ninety miles.

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Murchison Strait was likewise another important geographical discovery, for Whale Sound, with which it is connected, was supposed to be only a deep fiord, whereas

it now appears to be a wide passage, and to be the limits of the continent of Greenland.

"In the third place, the ice having prevented Captain Austin from entering Jones' Sound, but which seemed to him to be only a deep bay, now turns out to be another channel to the northward, through the great cluster of Parry Islands."

The results of this interesting voyage have furnished many facts possessing an important bearing on the present and future searching expeditions; and confirm the following opinions thrown out by Mr. Petermann.

1. That Sir John Franklin has not been wrecked, and has not perished in the northern part of Baffin's Bay, and along its western shore.

2. That the Polar Seas even in very high latitudes, are perfectly navigable during a certain period of the year.

3. That this period of navigableness in the comparatively high latitudes is not in the middle of summer, (when the seas through which access is to be had are usually encumbered with ice,) but at the end of the summer season, or at its beginning, before the great ice masses dislodged from the coast and drifted southward.

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4. That certain animals, fit for food, are more or less abundant even in the highest latitudes.

Bearing the preceding points in mind, and assuming that Sir J. Franklin has gone up Wellington Channel, and there found before him a sea of considerable extent, and navigable like that to the north of Baffin's Bay, the question arises, how is it possible that nearly eight years have now passed without Sir John Franklin's having been able to pass out of that sea into the sea situated to the north of Behring's Strait, in the direction of either the American or the Siberian shores? The most feasible solution of this question that suggests itself to me, is that a tract of land may have hitherto prevented his progress in that region. There are reasons for conjecturing that such a tract of land may extend from the land seen by Captain Kellett, to the north of Behring's Straits, as far as the eastern coasts of Greenland, without a single opening. At all events it admits of scarcely any doubt that the sea to the north of Baffin's Bay can have no connexion with the Polar Basin, nor even with the sea beyond.

All this has been done, an immense line of coast investigated, and yet the question is not set at rest, though the desired object appears to be nearer attainment than ever. This spring opens with the fact, that of the many vessels employed in the search, there can be but eight in the

Arctic regions, namely, Sir Edward Belcher's fleet of four vessels, with the depôt-ship at Beechey Island. The Inves tigator, which has passed three winters in the ice, and should Captain McClure have succeeded in fulfilling his intentions, now probably somewhere to the north of Melville Island. The Enterprise, whose whereabouts is uncertain, with the depôt-ship, Plover, Captain Maguire, which has been moved farther north to Moore Harbour, Point Barrow; the Rattlesnake and Phonix steamers are on their way to Behring's Strait; while the American expedition has just quitted to aid in the eastern search. Lady Franklin has also fitted out and despatched once more the Isabel, under the command of Mr. Kennedy, to proceed northward and eastward of Behring's Strait.

HOPES AND FEARS, AND PRESENT COURSE OF OPERATIONS FOR CONCLUDING THE SEARCH.

In an ably written and interesting letter from Lady Franklin to the President of the United States, expressing her sincere and profound gratitude for the service which has already been rendered to the Arctic cause by the United States Government, she says, "The result of the late operations of the allied squadrons, though falling short of our hopes and expectations, are neither insignificant nor devoid of great encouragement for the future. They prove, in the first place, that the missing ships escaped all the catastrophes which the faint-hearted and despairing had predicted of them in their outward voyage, and arrived in safety at the first winter quarters, where were the graves of those men belonging to the discovery ships, and buried, apparently with great care and decorum; attesting that the ships companies were not only in life, but, as other unmistakeable signs combine to prove, in circumstances of security, comfort, and plenty, and full of vigour. Again, the future field of search has been narrowed, and the exploration of Captain Austin's officers over the ice, carried on with a spirit and perseverance which makes me proud that they are my countrymen, having shown that our ships could not have pursued a south-west course; while the discoveries of Captain Penny, conducted with equal energy and spirit, in a north-west direction, leave no room to doubt that the clear water he there came upon was the first opened by my husband's ships, and that they pursued their way towards Behring's Strait in a high northern latitude. Thus our future efforts have a more confined and definite aim. It may be affirmed that the lost navigators are now

to be looked for with every hope of success, in the space lying between 100° and 180° of west longitude and any parallel of latitude north of 75°. It would appear, therefore, that to secure the completeness of the search, it should be commenced simultaneously at both ends, and that no single expedition going up Wellington Channel should be considered to have exhausted its work till it emerged in Behring's Strait, or, in other words, accomplished a northwest passage; nor any expedition starting from Behring's Strait deem its object attained till it comes out in Wellington Channel or Baffin's Bay; or, in other words, performed the north-west passage. We derive infinite comfort from the proofs which the late expeditions have given us, that considerable resources exist in those northern portions of the Arctic regions which have now been approached, for the support of human life, and very satisfactory, also, is the additional experience gained in confirmation of all former evidence, that the Arctic climate is in itself favourable to health, and that the loss of life attending the expeditions is, in spite of the risks and accidents incidental to them, far less than the average in any other quarter of the globe. With these facts before us, and with no proof or even sign of any sudden calamity having overtaken them and cut short their progress, it seems not presumptuous, but within the bounds of a reasonable and modest calculation of probabilities, to conclude the lost navigators have only not been found because they were already beyond the reach of the efforts which have been made to come upon their track, limited as their efforts have hitherto been to the duration of a single season. discovery ships were years ahead of all their pursuers, and, while the latter had advanced hardly beyond the starting post, they were struggling towards the goal. If misfortune has indeed overwhelmed them,-and how shall I dare refuse to believe in such a possibility ?-it has been in the strenuous ardent pursuit of their duty, and not in the early and timid abandonment of it, as they would seem to imply who gratuitously suppose that our brave countrymen turned back at the end of a single winter, and perished on their way home. It was the known determination of my husband, and is recorded by him in his last letter from the borders of the ice, to renew his attempts year after year, and if foiled in one direction to try another. * * * I cannot but regard the rescue of my husband and his companions, and the accomplishment of the new passage, as nearly identical objects. Had the researches which have hitherto been made in vain been

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subjected to no other restrictions than the accomplishment of the one object or the other, so long as the lives of those employed were not necessarily sacrificed, we might not perhaps have had to mourn over a series of bitter disappointments. It is only by having the same objects in view as the original expedition, and pursuing it with the same steadfast perseverance, that we can hope to solve the mystery."

Another searching expedition, consisting of the same vessels as before, fitted out again by Mr. Grinnell, has just left the American shores, (April, 1853.)

The former surgeon, now Lieutenant Kane, is in charge of it. A more judicious selection could not have been made.-Though before serving in but a subordinate capacity, he signally distinguished himself for his intelligence and energy. In one essential qualification he stands especially pre-eminent; that qualification is faith. He firmly believes that Sir John is yet a living man, and that he can be rescued from his place of confinement by human means. His heart is thoroughly in the enterprise, and his zeal, I am sure, will not fail so long as a vestige of hope remains.

Unsuccessful as the previous expeditions have been, there is yet strong reason for continued efforts. The discoveries which have been thus far made have rendered it absolutely certain that Sir John Franklin wintered in 1845-6 on Beechey Island, at the mouth of Wellington Channel. It is doubted whether he proceeded in the spring westward, or northward up the channel. His instructions expressly enjoined the former course, but an extensive search by means of sledges, in that direction, extending to 103° 25' along the south shore, and to 114° 20' along the north shore, has afforded no indication that such was the course actually pursued; still, it is very possible that the two missing ships may be blocked up in some of the passages or inlets which have not been explored. But the opinion entertained generally by the officers of both the English and American expeditions is, that Sir John prosecuted his course by the open sea north-west of the Wellington and Victoria Channels, and is shut up in the almost boundless region of water, ice, and land that extends between Victoria Channel and the high and extensive lands north of West Georgia, considered by some to be a continuation of the range of mountains seen off Cape Jakan on the coast of Asia. That there is a great polar basin with a higher temperature than that of the Arctic zone, abounding with animal life, and ample means for human subsistence, was plainly set forth by Captain