family.

Report says that, even in his humble capacity, MISS EMILY FLIMSY had
remarked his high demeanour. Well, "none but the brave," say we,
"deserve the fair."

This we may call the commencement of the mania; in their proper places
will be noticed its culmination and collapse.

On 18 May sailed from Greenhithe the two Arctic discovery ships, the
_Erebus_ and _Terror_, under the command of Sir John Franklin, whose
instructions were "to push to the westward, without loss of time, in the
latitude of about 74.25 degrees, till you have reached the longitude of
that portion of land on which Cape Walker is situated, or about 98
degrees west. From that point we desire that every effort be used to
endeavour to penetrate to the southward and westward, in a course as
direct towards Behring's Straits as the position and strength of the ice,
or the existence of land, at present unknown, may admit. We direct you
to this particular part of the Polar Sea, as affording the best prospect
of accomplishing the passage to the Pacific."

They were provisioned for three years, but when, in 1850, Captain
Ommanney discovered, on Beechey Island, traces of the expedition having
spent their first winter there, he found large stacks of preserved meat
canisters, which, there is little doubt, contained putrid filth, and had
been condemned by survey.

As nothing was heard of the expedition, another was organised, in 1847,
to start, for search and relief, from Hudson's Bay; and, indeed, no one
can say that the two exploring vessels were forgotten; for, from that
date, till 1857, _thirty-nine different expeditions were sent to look
after them_. The first to find traces of them was that of Capt.
Ommanney, in 1850; then, in April, 1854, Dr. Rae heard, from the natives,
of a party of white men having been seen, four winters previously, and
that their bodies had afterwards been seen. From these Eskimo, Rae
obtained some silver spoons and other small articles which left no doubt
but that they had belonged to the ill-fated expedition. But it was the
_Fox_ yacht, which was fitted out by Lady Franklin, and commanded by
Capt. McClintock, which settled the question of their fate. Early in
1859, a boat, a few skeletons, chronometers, clothing, instruments,
watches, plate, books, etc., were discovered; and, towards the end of
May, a written paper was found, which gave news of them up to 25 Apl.,
1848, and told that "Sir John Franklin died on 11 June,