The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-06 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 6, 1849.

MAGAZINES, &c.—(CONTINUED.)

TA IT.

Our Edinburgh contemporary is more than usually
attractive this month, both in regard to fiction and
c? iticism. The review of the concluding volume of
Bras brooke's " Pepys" will be found to be one of the
most delightful magazine articles for October. Mr.
Percy St. John continues his entertaining " Tale of
the Mexican Gulf ;" among the other continuations
al,o are those of " There and Back Again " and
" O'Cleery's Tenant-right." " The Modern Vassal"
is happily brought to a conclusion. In addition to the
customary literary and political registers, there is a
plentiful sprinkling of poetical contributions. In the
Obituary will be found memorials of the Bishop of
Norwich (Stanley) and of Dr. Cooke Taylor.

ELIZA COOK'S JOURNAL. Part V.
Upwards of five calendar months have elapsed since
the popular poet adventured upon a new path in
literature, and already she has become a popular
journalist. Our felicitations are hers, but—better
than all felicitations—she has secured to herself the
knowledge that, through her own graceful efforts to
elevate the character of cheap periodicals, she has
rendered her name more than ever a favourite in the
households of England. Those already familiar with
the effusions of Eliza Cook's sensitive heart and
fertile fancy cannot, however, be in any degree sur-
prised that she has chosen her materials so judiciously
—that she has collected such fragrant blossoms in her
poetical herbarium—that she has gathered into her
literary casket such gems of thought and: jewels of
imagination. For all that we can conjecture, her
acquaintance with conchology may be small; yet we
would trust to her capacity to select the most brilliant
shells in a ramble along the sea-beach. She may be
no lapidary ; yet we would wager her appreciation
of precious stones is not narrow. She may be but
slightly versed in the science of botany ; yet we are
morally certain she would discern beauties in the
wild wood-flowers as well as in the more cultivated
efflorescence of a garden or a conservatory. A nosegay
in her hands, we doubt not, would be arranged as
eloquently as any floral billet d'amour ever dropped
from an oriental lattice in the twilight. For Eliza
Cook, though many may fear she has " degenerated"
into the journalist, is still, still the poet. In
illustration of this we need not point alone
to the five charming compositions contained
in the present " part " of her periodical—.
verses not unworthy of the bard of " Melaia"—
but the fact is visible in the general tenor of the
Journal, and in the charms of very many of its
contributions. " A Song for the Ragged Schools" is
written in a key singularly plaintive, and with a
pathetic and appealing cadence at the close of each
stanza. It is a voice chaunting the plea of wretched-
ness in the mother-tongue of so many kindred cele-
brities. It breathes the language of Hood and
Proctor, of one who has sung of the outcast of
London—.
" No one heareth her, no one heedeth her

But hunger her friend, with his cold gaunt hand,
Graspeth her throat, whispering harshly,
What dost thou in a Christian land?'"
Who that has lingered with pleasure over Eliza Cook's
lines on the " Old Farm Gate," on the " Old Straw
Hat," or, best and sweetest melody of them all, her
" Old Arm-chair," will not love the music of her
recent verses on " The Churchyard Stile ?" Her
stanzas again on " Fortune and Love" will not only
have been welcomed for the beauty of that golden
ejaculation—.

" Let the desert of Life give Eternity's blossom!"
but will doubtless have induced many to have applied
to the writer herself that previous exclamation—
" Oh! 'tis pleasant to know there are beings about us
Who tune the most exquisite strings in our heart!"
Of a different tone is her bitter and sarcastic allusion
to those who are " Better Fed than Taught." The
touching sketch of the "Blind Boy," reprinted only a
few days since in our own columns, will have been
sufficiently admired by our readers to require no
explicit commendation from ourselves. Silverpen,
among the miscellaneous, and, generally speaking,
anonymous contributors, still continues to be indus-
trious—instance the agreeable and earnest biography
of "John Ashmore, of, Birmingham." Several essays
of considerable excellence are scattered through the
successive numbers—the most charming of which are
" The Oasis in the Desert," and " The Sunshine of
Life," the former having our decided preference.
Stories, fragments, memoirs, criticisms, and a swarm
of brilliant particles of wit and wisdom, christened
very felicitously " Diamond Dust," compose the
rest of the varied and entertaining materials of Eliza
Cook's periodical.

THE ART JOURNAL.
Maclise's most facetious and Shaksperian picture of
" Malvolio " has been admirably engraved by Staines;
and Webster's capital painting of the " Truant," by
Phillibrown —both of the originals being well-known
portions of the collection in the Vernon Gallery. Added
to these embellishments, the Art Journal for October
contains a charming sketch of Marshall's very exquisite
statue of Sabrina, a production which has recently
been copied in porcelain statuettes of singular ele-
gance by Alderman Copeland. The recent exhibi-
tion of art and manufactures at Birmingham is de-
scribed in the present number of this periodical with
a prodigal profusion of very excellent woodcuts.
Beyond which, the publication is replete with inte•
resting information appertaining to art and artists.

COLDURN'S UNITED SERVICE.
As we shall take the very earliest opportunity to
refer to the leading article in this eminent naval and
military journal, an article referring to the recent
court martial held on the late Commander of the
Childers, we shall abstain from saying more at
present than that the writer coincides for the most
part with the views already and repeatedly ex-
pressed by ourselves. Although we are gratified to
record this circumstance, seeing that it possesses some
importance, as the expression of one of the worthiest
organs of the profession, we cannot for a moment
allow it to be supposed that the course adopted by the
United Service Gazette has been to us a matter of the
smallest surprise. No other opinion, indeed, could be
formed upon the matter without the grossest violation of
all the first and commonest principles of justice.
" A Qui liye " gives us a smart reminiscence of his
military career in the shape of " An Episode in the
Affghanistan Campaigns.' "A Few Odd Fishes, not
Sea Serpents " will prove, on perusal, to be not less
amusing than truthful. One other paper in the
number for October we must, perforce, particularise,
we mean the argument, penned by a surgeon, " On
the anomalous Position and Treatment of Military
Medical Officers." The subject is unquestionably
one demanding not only the serious consideration,
but also the speedy interference of the authorities."

CHOLERA AND DIARRHEA.

RETURN OF CASES, Om 4.
THE METROPOLIS.
SUPERINTENDING REGISTRAR'S DISTRICT.
Deaths.
Cholera. Diarrk

A-FATHER SHOT BY HIS SON.

Late on Thursday night the neighbourhood of
Chiswick and Hammersmith was thrown into a state
of great excitement by its becoming known that a
dreadful attempt at assassination had been made at
the residence of Captain John Farmer Monkhouse,
situated on the Mall, fronting the River Thames at
Chiswick. Captain Monkhouse himself was the un-
fortunate victim of this horrible crime, and the per.
petrator was his second son, Henry Monkhouse, a
sa►lor, who is now in custody.
It appears that the occurrence took place about
half-past ten o'clock, when a cab drove up to the outer
gate of the premises, and the bell was rung by the
cabman. It was answered by one of the female ser-
vants, whom the cabman told that a gentleman in
the cab wished to see Mr. Monkhouse. The servant
went in with the message, and in a minute or two
afterwards Captain Monkhouse came to the front
door. On seeing him, the son, who was inside the
cab, exclaimed—" I see him ; there he is ;" sprang
out of the cab, and instantly discharged a pistol
at his parent, which took effect in his
neck. Mr. Monkhouse, senior, immediately fell,
and at that moment a second pistol was discharged,
which, however, lodged in the ceiling of the hall. The
son then jumped into the cab, which was immediately
driven off in the direction of Acton. Mr. Perfect,
surgeon, of Hammersmith- terrace, the nearest medical
man, was sent for, and instantly attended, when the
unfortunate gentleman was removed to his bedroom,
and, on examination, it was found that a ball had
entered the front of the neck, and passing the wind.
pipe and the carotid artery, had passed out under
the right ear, and was found in the nape of the neck.
Information was then given to the police on duty near
the house, and was immediately forwarded to the head
station at Brook-green, Hammersmith, with a descrip-
tion of the son. Inspector Jecks, T division, who was
on duty at the head station, instantly dispatched
police-constable, Henry Reason, T 247, one of the
mounted patrols, in the direction the cab had taken,
and copies of the description of the accused were
also forwarded by constables in cabs to the nearest
stations of each of the other divisions, with
directions to take instant measures to secure
the fugitive ; to which promptitude of action is
mainly to be attributed the caption of the assassin
by the patrol Reason, at the Bell public-house, Ealing,
from which he was removed to the head station,
where he arrived before 12 o'clock. On him were
found a pistol, several bullets, percussion caps, and
some gunpowder. The prisoner made no answer to
the charge when it was read to him at the station,
and he was then removed to one of the lock-ups—a
constable being placed in attendance with him during
the night, in order to prevent any attempt at self-
destruction. The excitement caused on Thursday
night was yesterday greatly increased, and the mur-
derous attempt forming the principal topic of conver-
sation throughout the district, the family of Captain
Monkhouse having been long resident at Shepherd's
Bush, Hammersmith, and Chiswick. From inquiries
made at the residence of' the unfortunate gentleman it
appeared that he was still alive, but in a most dangerous
state. Throughout the day a crowd was collected in
front of his residence. Long before the hour appointed
for the opening of the Hammersmith Police court
(two o'clock) a large crowd had assembled outside,
anxious to obtain admission to hear the examination
of the prisoner, who was brought from the station-
house on Brook. green about half-an-hour before.
Mr. Beadon, the sitting magistrate, took his seat on
the bench at two o'clock precisely, when those who
were concerned in the case were admitted into the
body of the court,, which will not hold above thirty
or forty persons. Amongst the leading inhabitants
present were Mr. J. Frere (a local magistrate), the
Rev. Mr. Bowerbank (Vicar of. Chiswick), Captain
West, &c. Shortly afterwards the prisoner was
placed at the bar. He appeared to be about 5 feet 5
inches high, stout made, and florid complexion, with
dark brown hair. Throughout the examination he
maintained the utmost composure, and seemed utterly
careless about the painful situation in which he was
placed.
The charge entered on the police-sheet was as fol-
lows :—" Henry Bathurst Monkhouse, aged 27 years,
a mariner, charged with discharging a loaded pistol
at John Farmer Monkhouse, in the parish of Chis-
wick, with intent to do him some grievous bodily
harm."

Elizabeth Baines was the first witness called—She
deposed that she was in the service of Captain Monk-
house. She knew the prisoner at the bar, who was
the second son of her master. On the previous night,
shortly after ten o'clock, she answered a ring at
the gate bell, and on opening it saw a cabman stand-
ing there and a cab in the road. The cabman asked
her if Captain Monkhouse was at home ; and on her
replying in the affirmative, he said, a gentleman in
the cab wished to speak with him< Witness abut the
gate to go to tell her master, whom she met in the
doorway of the house, and told him what the cabman
had said. Captain onkhouse desired her to go and
ask the name of the gentleman ; and she went back
to the gate and asked the cabman what the gentle.
man's name was. The cabman replied that he did
not know; and at that instant the prisoner rushed
past them, exclaiming, " I'm a Monkhouse, and I'll
speak to him." She then saw the prisoner rush for-
ward towards her master, and directly heard two
shots go " bang, bang !" Witness saw her master
fall, and the prisoner instantly bounced out of the
gate, while she went to her master's assistance, and
found him crawling on his hands and knees into the
front parlour. _

By Mr. Beadon—Could not say where the prisoner
came from, as she did not see him until he rushed in
the gate. Saw him take something out of the breast
of his coat, which she believed was a pistol.
The prisoner declined to ask the witness any
question.
William Siezer deposed that he was the driver of
the cab No. 613, belonging to Mrs. Birch, cab pro-
prietor, Horseferry-road, 'Westminster. On the
previous evening, betwen seven and eight o'clock, he
was on the stand in the Minories, when the prisoner
asked him the fare to Chiswick. Witness told him
that it was nine miles, and with back fare it would be
14s. The prisoner agreed to go. Witness followed
him into a public-house opposite the stand to have
something to drink. Having had what he wished,
he went into the parlour, where the prisoner was sit-
ting. On entering, the prisoner was in the act of
putting his hand into his trousers pocket and had
before him on the table a lot of silver money, which
the prisoner attempted to hide. Witness went out
and told the landlord of the circumstance,
who went into the parlour, and in a minute or two
the prisoner came out and got into the cab, and
witness drove off. On reaching the White Horse,
Knightsbridge, the prisoner told him to pull up.
They went inside and had some drink. The prisoner
seemed to be known there, and told the woman at
the bar that he would bring her some scent, and left
his handkerchief as a pledge. Witness then drove on
to Chiswick, calling at several public-houses on the
way, the last being the Black Lion, in Black Lion-
lane, near the prisoner's father's house. The prisoner
got out there and went in and spoke to the landlady,
who seemed to know him ; but he had nothing to
drink. The prisoner then got on the box with the
witness to show him his father's house, where the cab
was to stop. The witness then corroborated the tes-
timony of the first witness as to the delivery of the
message, and her returning to the gate to ask the
gentleman's name, and the prisoner, who was at that
time standing on the further side of the cab in the
road, rushing on to the gate and his hearing a noise.
The witness was here very cloa.ely questioned by
Mr. Beadon as to what the noise was. The witness
at first said like something falling, but at last ad.-
mitted it was like a report of a gui:ijor pistol.
Examination continued—When Xkie prisoner came
out, witness asked him what that noise was. The
prisoner smiled and said, " Oh, that is nothing." The
prisoner then got into the cab and ordered him to go
back into the high road, and pull up at the White
Hart public-house round the corner. Witness there
asked him for his fare as he had brought him to his
destination, but he said he wanted to go to Ealing,
four miles further, and witness agreed to go there for
a sovereign. On reaching the Bell public- house on the
Uxbridge road, at Ealing, he stopped witness and
went inside, and on his return he told him to drive him
to his brother's house at Castlebar-hill, which he did.
The prisoner there rang several times, but it was not
answered, and witness drove him back to the Bell.
Witness there asked him for the sovereign (his fare),
but the prisoner said he had no sovereigns to spare.
While witness:was speaking to the landlord relative to
the fare the patrol came in and took the prisoner into
custody.
The patrol then deposed to apprehending the pri-
soner. On asking him if his name was Monkhouse
he said it was not, and asked witness what he wanted
with him. Witness told he must go with him to the
Ealing station, and called another constable to his
aid. At the station the prisoner pulled out from the
two pockets of his coat the barrel and stock of the
pistol produced, which he screwed together and
handed to witness. The prisoner said, "If I had a
brace of loaded pistols I'd blow my brains out."
Witness found in his waistcoat pocket eight bullets,
six percussion caps, and some gunpowder; also some
documents in the name of Monkhouse. He subse-
quently brought him in the cab to the head station at
Hammersmith.

Mr. Thomas W. 0. Perfect, the first surgeon called
in, was next examined. He deposed that he was
fetched about a quarter past ten o'clock on the previ-
ous night by Miss Alonkhouse. On reaching the
house he found Captain Monkhouse in a back bed-
room, and ordered his removal to his own bedroom.
The captain was very faint, and vomiting blood.
On examining his neck, he saw that a ball bad
passed through the black stcck the captain wore at
the time, and perforated the flesh of the neck exactly
over the thyroid cartilage of the windpipe, or centre
of the most projecting point of the windpipe. It did
not perforate the air tube, but passed down on the

right side of the neck and through the throat, wound-
ing the gullet, and, striking against the clavical ♦er-
tebrae, descended between the external and internal
carotid arteries in the direction of the sternomastoi-
deus muscle, and came out a little posteriorly, where
it was found among the clots of blood in the collar of
the shirt. Witness gave up the case on the arrival
of Mr. Halford, of the firm of Bowling and Halford,
surgeons of Hammersmith, the medical attendant of
the family.
Mr. Halford deposed to having seen Captain Monk-
house between one and two o clock that afternoon.
He was in a state of great danger.
The prisoner was then remanded until Wednesday
next.
Up to a late hour last night the wounded gentleman
was, still living.

NEWS OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S
EXPEDITION.
We are indebted to the Shipping and Mercantile
Gazette of last night for the following further in-
teresting details :
" TO THE EDITOR OF THE SHIPPING AND MERCANTILE
GAZETTE.
" Pilot-office, Hull, Oct. 4.
" Sir,—l have no small gratification in being able
to forward what I believe to be an authentic account
of Captain Franklin and his companions. The True-
love, Parker, arrived her last night from Davis'
Straits, bringing a plan which Captain Kerr, of the
Superior, received from an Esquimaux, describing
the ships under Franklin to be beset on the north
side of Barrow's Straits, and Sir J. Ross's ships on
the south side; he also states that on tha 30th of
March, this year, be (the native) was on board
Franklin's ships, and that a daily communication was
maintained between the respective commanders. The
plan is drawn by lead pencil, and is a very creditable
production. Thomas Ward, Esq , the owner of the
Truelove, will by this mail forward the plan and
other information to the Lords of the Admiralty, to
whom he has already forwarded a telegraphic com-
munication. Sincerely hoping and believing that
this information is based on a sound foundation,
" I am, Sir, yours obediently,
" DALE BROWN.'
The communication referred to by Mr. Brown was
published in The Sun yesterday, signed Thomas
Ward, owner of the Truelove.
(From the Eastern Counties Herald, Oct. 4.)
DAVIS'S STRAITS FISHERY.—Loss OF THE PRINCE
OF WALES AND OTHER WHALERS.—RUMOURED
INTELLIGENCE OF SIR. JOIN FEANYLIN.—The John
0' Groat's Journal of Friday night contains a para-
graph to the following effect :—"A letter has just been
received here from Kirkwall, announcing the arrival
there of Captain Paterson, of the Jane, of Newcastle,
and Captain Lee, of the Prince of Wales, of Hull (both
vessels having been wrecked at Davis's Straits), with
30 men, brought by a Danish vessel. Captain Paterson
has in his possession a sealed bottle with some docu-
ments from Sir John Franklin, addressed to the Ad-
miralty, and picked up by the natives. The contents
are not known. Lady Franklin is in a neighbouring
island, and is not aware of this important arrival."
Upon this subject, we may state that we have seen
Captain Lee, who arrived here on Monday last, by
railway, from Edinburgh, and who states that the
bottle in Captain Paterson's possession was picked up
in 1845, about four years ago, by some of the Es-
quimaux, who gave it to the inspector of one: of
the Danish settlements, and that officer gave it to
Captain Paterson this year to bring to England, but
it cannot be of the slightest service towards unra-
velling the mystery which at present surrounds the
position of Sir John and his brave companions, who
were in latitude about] 66 deg. N., when the bottle
was thrown overboard. OD the 19th of July, Capt.
Lee boarded the North Star discovery ship, in
search of Sir John Franklin, of whom her commander
hail then heard no tidings. The North Star was in
lat. 73 50, and pursuing her way to the northward,
with all well on board. Captain Lee gives us the
following particulars of the loss of his own
vessel and of two others, together with the most
recent intelligence of the progress of the fishery :
The Prince of Wales was wrecked on the 12th July,
in lat. 74 30, by
.being " nipped" or subjected to
heavy pressure between two floes of ice. She had on
board 1 fish, 17 tuns. The Lady Jane, of New-
castle, and the Superior, of Peterhead, were similarly
wrecked on the 12th June, and the united crews of
those two vessels had subsequently to pull between
three and four hundred miles, in open boats, to reach
the Danish settlements, where they all arrived in
safety. Their united strength would be of great
assistance to them in their journey. The Lady Jane
was the property of Messrs. Plummer and Co.' of
Newcastle. She was built in London in 1772, has
been afloat 77 years, and registered 390 tons. It is
reported that at the time she was crushed in the ice
she was a full ship, The Prince of Wales was alone
when she was lost, and many miles distant from
either vessels or land. The headland called the
Devil's Thumb bore about S.E. by E.,
distant forty miles. Seven boats were manned
and laden with provisions and a few clothes, but
the distanc3 which they had to travel, the difficulty
of moving the boats over the ice, which lay between
the wreck and the opfn water, and the perils of a
subsequent journey of 300 miles over the sea, before
they could reach any human habitation, compelled
them to desist from bringing much clothing, and
many cf the men lost nearly all except what they
stood in. The crew consisted of 48 souls-24 being
Shetlandmen and 24 from Hull. Strong gales from
the southward were blowing, with thick hazy wea-
ther, when Captain Lee and his comrades were com-
pelled to abandon the ship to save their lives. 'The
journey over the ice occupied nearly eight days, and
their passage over the open sea was made in nearly
four more. On the 19th of July they boarded the
North Star, as above described, and were kindly
received by her commander, but did not require any
assistance. On the 22d, they saw the Lord Gam-
bier, of Hull, with no fish, but about four tuns of oil,
the croduce of seals, &c. On the 23d, they reached
the Danish settlement Proven. They were consider-
ably exhausted by the fatigue and loss of sleep during
their travel, but were otherwise in perfect health.
After remaining three vs eeks at Proven, they pro-
ceeded in a Danish vessel to Lively, or
God Haven, as it is called by the Danes. It
is the capital of their settlements. Here they
remained until the 27th August, when they
left in another Danish ship, and were landed upon
the Orkney island " Papa Westre," on the 27th Sep-
tember (Thursday last), from whence Captain Lee and
ten others of the crew proceeded on the same day, in
a large boat, for Kirkwall, the capital of the Orkney
Isles; from whence, on the 28th, they sailed in a
clipper for Leith, leaving the mate and thirty-seven of
the crew in the Orkneys, to be forwarded by other
vessels. On the 30th, Captain Lee left Edinburgh,
and arrived here on the Ist inst. On the 12th of
June the following ships got safely through the
"nip," and proceeded to the northward and west-
ward :--Alexander, of Dundee, with four fish;
Advice, same port, four fish ; Horn, same port, four
fish; Princess Charlotte, of same 'port, three fish ;
James Green, of Peterhead, clean ; and Truelove, of
Hull, six fish—seventy tuns. The Pacific, of Aber-
deen, seen about the same time, was clean. The
Lord Gambier, of Hull, had, on the 22d of July, four
tuns of seal and other oil ; the Jane, of I3oness, six
fish—ninety tuns ; the Chieftain, of Kirkaldy, eleven
bottle-noses—sixteen tuns ; Regalia, of the same port,
clean. The Abram was understood to be to the
southward of the other ships, and her success was not
known. The French ships engaged in the cod fishery
on the banks of Newfoundland have had very bad
success during the present season; several were re-
turning with less than half a cargo.

The following extraordinary letter has been ad-
dressed to the editor of the Manchester Guardian :

" Sir,—ln the Manchester Guardian of Saturday last,
September 29th, you have inserted a short notice of in-
quiries recently made of the Bolton clairvoyante re-
specting the fate of Sir John Franklin, which, besides
being essentially incorrect, seems calculated unnecessa-
rily to increase the uneasiness felt by his friends regard-
ing him. As a party concerned I feel it a duty, therefore,
though with some reluctance, to communicate the real
facts to you in detail. If disbelieved, their publication
can do no harm; and if ever so little credited they are
rather encouraging than otherwise.
" Being cast into a mesmeric state, then, this woman
asserted positively that Sir John Franklin is still alive
and now comparatively well. He has undergone great
hardships, but has overcome them, and is in good hope
of getting to England in nine months and a half, provided
no unforeseen accident occurs. The difference between
the apparent time where he is and at Bolton is nearly
six hours, indicating a difference of longitude of from
85 to 90. And afterwards, when asked, being still in
the mesmeric state, to endeavour to point on the map
where he is, she put her finger on the north-west side of
Hudson's Bay, which is not very far from this longitude,
though the map being on a very small scale, and very
inconveniently bound up, in a volume of the ' Penny
Cyclopmdia,' and required by her to be rested on her
Eead, and held to her eyes, and thus reversed, no very
precise indication could be so obtained.
" As she is perfectly uninstructed, and unable even to
read or write, it seems scarcely possible to suppose that
she can know anything of maps whatever; and further,
the indication thus obtained, both by difference of time
and her pointing on the map, took the bystanders quite
by surprise. They had not the least idea of loukiug for
Sir John in this direction; and yet if his ships have
been wrecked or abandoned on the west coast of .I!oothis
or towards Victoria Land, it is possible, though it may
appear to
-us at present unlikely, that be may have tried
to return to the eastward inside of Boothia, which, when
he departed, was supposed to be an island. And if he
has succeeded in overcoming the very great
is precisely
which must have attended such route, this precisely
the direction in which he would appear. And further,
if he got this length too late in the season to save the
Huthon Bay Company's autumn ship, his own impres-
sion would naturally be that he would be detained till
the ensuing spring, which would just make up the nine
months specified before he expected to be in England;
this period not having been given by the clairvoyante

as a prot heey, but as the impression on his mind, with
which she professed to hive some mystereus means of
communication.

- -
"It is true that she said that be had only three per-
sons with him; but other parties of his men are follow-
ing in the same direction, though some ware separated
from him. She saw also the shells (dead bodies) of
others in different postures under the snow. And she
described graphically enough the deer, wild cattle, wild
men, and rough tangled forests that she passed in going
to him ; with an animal striped down the back and
sides, which leaps very far, and may be the panther or
wild cat.

" She also professed to go and visit his ships, one of
which she said was under water, with very thick tim-
bers, the other above it. And an old letter being also
possessed from Sir James Ross, she was sent to visit
him too. For this purpose she said she had to go much
further. He is fast in the ice, and unable to turn his
ship round, but intends returning to England when he
can. She added that it was snowing heavily when she
saw him ; ho had not seen Sir John Franklin. The
difference between his apparent time and that at Bolton
was nearly eight hours, corresponding to 110 degrees to
115 degrees west ; and when required subsequently to
show the place on the map, she pointed to Bankes' Land
almost at once, a position lull of probability.
" Sir James Ross, she says, is well, but much an-
noyed at being stopped. Another ship is not tar from
him, and neither of these have sails set. But their is a
third ship much nearer, under sail, and coming ap-
parently from their direction; her difference of time is
only two hours and a half, corresponding to 35 degrees
to 40 degrees wes,. (Can this be the transport sent out
last spring to renew their supplies?) She mentioned
this ship first herself; only one person in the room
knew that such a vessel had been sent, and in his in-
terest for the principal persons concerned, he had not
thought of the transport sent to their relief till this third
ship was mentioned.

She expressed great astonishment at finding the clocks
differ so much, and said they should be sent to the
watchmakers to put them right. She also described Sir
James Ross as being stouter than Sir John Franklin,
and in better case (' more squash,' were her words).
Sir John's cheeks, she said, are somewhat sunk through
his fatigues, but his health is good, and he has now
abundance to eat. Her description of his person was
otherwise sufficiently near, and she specifically men-
tioned his being bald.
" These, then, are the principal statements that were
thus elicited. Many other details were added, not
without interest, but this communication is already
too long. Including the mesmeriser, four gentlemen
were present during most of the time they were col-
lected. They will gain various degrees of present cre-
dit, according to the temperament of those who may
receive them; and, in
.truth, it would seem premature
at present to place much reliance on them, though in
these days, when we make the lightning carry our mes-
sages and the sun take our portraits, it is very difficult
to draw the precise line betwixt the possible and im-
possible. In any case, it will be for the interest of truth
that they are recorded when collusion is impossible. I
enclose my card to authenticate my letter, but Ido not
wish my name published.
" I am, Sir, your very obedient servant,
is