The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-06-05 00:00:00

_2.pendipg
oir Edeva, .p. gi3nt, has g§t_to 9Q,Lpe, and -it
gentlemen—who-have 1- btr—ave-rßiyau leads

„
-wayan leads the way u
wayratall with the-baby- in- his -arms, the
folloka_witil .li-iv:irking in '4445-throat that
laughte at hiir litieband's last joke._ Thg tymge-aw.a3r.
raind_the gablp the Birinaling,. and Vieri Mrf
Bunyan comes k alonelge listen in- va;ifitria jet
from his lips. Captan camejan.-1/6041,,
his ow-parting over, and new the moment of
was fast approaching. One final piaotograph •
The ladies, who hadslbgetedi.th*4ont -
room were escorted, on tekk; tbi!ksirkiW4
over their faces, and the.,littie 3 ttf,y,
resptvtfiillgr; vide war for *th4Aaa---las , _ !moved-
aWay slowly, et resolutely refraining from looking
back. The signal of theAagshiitrft urvpithp.Vigken
of the Alert asitliti-tlslt)tarlitral for ""permisSion tq
part clip napan y, Ana thef gi1t5:49,64-e etely
visiblet The naval póèmeii data aboard for-the-fast
time, bearing packets_qf .contents Df
, may well be gftefeieel; eVen•fo” glance at the
recipient i Were 'too busy:: • -A *te egraph' boy 'darted
down the gangidarivitiVa messagb to a younklieu
tenant. "Good bye and God bless you!" the young
fellow read aloud •in hislabstiaction, before he hid the
message in his bosom—the last fond farewell and
aspiration from yearning hearts. "All for shore" was
the order, and the last of the visitors passed out... . .
And now strong arms pull the gangway ashore, and
communication with the Alert was cut off. Captain
Nares, with the pilot took port on the bridge, the
braces were manned and the yards squared. From the
jetty the harbour•master gave his successive injunc-
tions. "Let go forward! and then the screw made
its first revolution. On moment more and the order
was "Let go abaft!" and 10, the Alert was free and
slowly steaminp- away from the jetty, closely-followed
by the Discovery. !` Man tl-e rigging !" was the next
order, and the seamen, springing up nimbly, clustered
on the shrouds, cheering loudly in response to the
cheering of those left behind on the jetty. Not that
all left- there were in care to cheer • not a few there
were who turned away in mournful silence, or in
silence wistfully gazed through tears after the receding
ships. It was four o'clock to the minute when the
Alert cast loose. _
Very slowly the ships—the Alert leading by about
a hundred yards—steamed down the harbour, their
rigging remaining manned: Slowly they passed the
war-ships, the glorious old Victory, the flag-ship
par excellence of the British navy, and the lofty-
sided Duke of Wellington, and the St. Vincent, bearer
of a memorable name. These, as the Arctic vessels
passed, manned their rigging, and their crews sped
their comiades on their way with ringing cheers. The
flagship ran up the signal "Good bye • best wishes 1"
and the Alert responded with " Thanks ; farewell!
It was a sight not to be forgotten as the -ships
emerged from the harbour into the anchorage of
Spithead, and headed eastward, standing close
inshore. - Their path lay through a vast flotilla of
steamers, yachts, and row-boats, crowded with spec-
tators cheering enthusiastically. From the grass-
grown half-dismantled ramparts of Portsmouth on the
west, as far as Southsea Castle on the east, the shore
from the top of the sea wall down to the water's edge
was lined by one unbroken mass of onlookers. Amid
the throng of dark-clad spectators ran the narrow red ,
strip of the soldiery which had been drawn out
and set in array on the beach to do honour to the -
departing representatives of the sister service. As
the Alert and Discovery slowly passed along this
coast-line of humanity,. the waving of handker-
chiefs was as if the wind were fluttering the leaves
of a forest whose leaves were white, and peal on
peal cf cheering was wafted by the light breeze over
the calm water. And thus enthusiastically and
heartily sped on its way, the Arctic squadron stood
slowly away from us out to sea, and as westood gazing
on it till the last, when with sail set the ships gradually
faded out of vision round Sea View Point, the glass
told that the signal "Farewell" was still flying from
the mizens.

In the course of the da.y Captain Nares received the
following telegram from the Queen :—" I earnestly
wish you and your gallant companions every success,
and I trust that you may safely accomplish the impor-
tant duty you have so bravely undertaken." Capin
Nares telegraphed in reply, "I feel deeply the great
honour her Majesty has done myself and the other
members of the Expedition in wishing us success.
Her Majesty may depend on all doing their duty."

In several of the churches and chapels in Ports-
mouth, on Sunday, prayers were offered for the preser-
vation of the crews and the success of the Arctic Ex-
pedition.

A member of the Expedition, writing to his friends on the
eve of his departure, thus gives his impressions :
At last we are ready for a start, though even now,
to a landsman's eye, we should look far from it.
Thankful we all are that the last week is over, and that
to-morrow we make Our start. Anything to equal the
worry of this past week it has never been my lot to
experience before. We had hundreds of things to do,
stores seemingly vithout end to put away, and nowhere
to put them, and to have to pack and squeeze and fill
up every square inch of room, during the whole of
which work the ship was crowded with people, who
managed to get in somehow—and to such an extent
that sometimes we could hardly mcve—it was not pos-
sible to put on sentries,. as we wanted every man to
work at stowing provisions. We shall not be quite
settled down, I think until we have been a week
at sea. Our trial trip, as you know, took place last
Tuesday, and our machinery worked most satisfac-
torily. Our speed, of course, was nothing great-7.7
knots; but that is not an object, economy of fuel
being our great point; and we found we could go
twenty-seven knots for one ton of coal, a very great
advantage; the Discovery only went twenty miles for
one ton. In ice you can only go slowly, as you have
to turn and twist about so much, and force and cut
your way through. Our trial, therefore, was as sati.,
factory in every way as we could dtsire. You have
asked me more than once what we considered our
chances of success to be. We are all very hopeful
about it, and more so now that all our preparations
are complete. In the first place there is no doubt
that everything has been done that could be done
to guard against possible wants and dangers and to
supply all our requirements. In this respect no expe-
dition has ever left any country fitted out as we are.
All the necessaries for our work—/ mean sleighs, boats,
clothing, food, &c., &c., specimens of which you saw
in the Museum—are as perfect in every respect—size,
weight, and usefulness—as was possible to make. All,
in fact the whole, of the equipment of the expedition
from the ships themselves to the smallest item of cloth-
ing has been made or prepared under the immediate
supervision of Sir Leopold McClintock, than whom
none so experienced in the wants of such an expedition
as ours could be found. In all things supplied to us
! the materials used have been the very best, the work
first-class, and the supply most liberal. The Ad-
miralty have in no case refused any reasonable
demand—and our demands • have all been reason-
able—and have given everything that experience
or forethought pointed out as necessary for the safety
and comfort of both officers and men. On all points
of equipment the utmost satisfaction prevails. In the
second place, we, for our part, `are in the best of health
and spirits, and there is not a man in either ship who
dreams or thinks of anything but success. Our men
were most carefully chosen, and are a strong, hearty,
cheerful, hard-working lot. The officers will, I think,
do their duty, as English officers always do in times
of danger or difficulty, and will be well seconded
by the men. Therefore I think, taking all this into
consideration, that, humanly speaking, our success
is certain, but humanly speaking only, for we all
well know the obstacles we shall have to en-
counter, and the dangers and difficulties of Arctic
exploration, how suddenly and unexpectedly they
arise. A few hours' calm or wind may keep 118
back a day. A day lost may mean a year, and a year
destroy all hopes of success. In fact, in no other
service in this world which brings into play all a man's
determination, perseverance, and pluck, do these quail-
so little ensure success as they do in Arctic exploration.
We shall do our very utmost, and prepared as we are
that ought to be a good deal ; but our success is in the
hands of the Almighty Father of us all, whose help and
protection we pray for and hope for, and by wh6s6
mercy we hope to return successful and
Fell IL
our
loving and loved ones at home. k

satis- I