"Out of sight out of mind," is not our motto. This gallant little expedi tion, consisting of but one small vessel, is now stemming the waves of the broad Atlantic, and boldly pursuing her course to the frozen regions of the North, there to encounter all the dangers and all the privations which unrelentingly pursue the hardy navigators of those ice-bound seas.

We have now passed our longest day, and are already approaching winter. Short as our summer is, shorter still is that in the Arctic region; and soon will that gallant little vessel, the Prince Albert, and her gallant crew, be frozen up on the inhospitable shores of Prince Regent's Inlet, to pass a long and dreary winter, without a consort, and with only their own noble spirits to cheer one another. Yet will they be joyous enough amidst all the surrounding desolation. They have embarked on a sacred cause, and have gone forth trusting in the protection of the Almighty, and resting their hopes on His saving power.

It will probably be towards the close of the summer before dispatches are received from Capt. Forsyth, and we shall then probably only know of his having touched at Disco. But we may reasonably hope he will have safely run the gauntlet of the ice in Baffin's Bay, and entered the open waters of Barrow Straits, pursuing his voyage down Prince Regent's Inlet so far as he may deem it prudent. Once safe in winter quarters he will be busily employed in preparing for an early start in the spring, with his boats and sledges, and to pass the time usefully schools for the men will be opened under that intelligent young man Mr. Show, who has embarked with him. The seamen's library, given by a friend who well knew how much they would stand in need of one, will help to wile away many a dreary hour, and at the same time tend to instruct as well as to amuse the men; and though last not least, the bagpipes, fiddle, and accordion will supply the place of better music; which was intended for them, his Royal Highness Prince Albert having, we have heard, ordered an organ to be presented to the crew of the ship bearing his name "in the hope that he might contribute to cheer and lighten the labours of those gallant men in their laudable and hazardous enterprise."

Unfortunately, the expedition, hurried beyond measure, sailed without it, but it was a kindly-intended act, and worthy of our noble Prince.

In three short weeks was this expedition equipped. One thousand pounds were at once advanced by Lady Franklin, and about £1,200 more since have been subscribed in a short time by her friends, and the friends of humanity; but this is a long way short of £5,000, which is about the total sum required, and we earnestly hope that the generosity and chivalry of the people of England will not allow that this noble-minded lady should be called upon to exhaust her private resources in the equipment of an expedition, allowed by all who have gone into this subject, to be most important and most necessary, but that they will come forward and relieve her, recollecting that the expedition has gone away in search of two of her Majesty's ships, sent out by her Majesty's government, and under command of her most honoured, most amiable, and most distinguished husband, the good and brave Sir John Franklin.

SEARCH FOR SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

A copy of the following letter was forwarded to Lloyd's yesterday from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty :

"Her Majesty's Ship Enterprize, Fortescue Bay, "Straits of Magellan. April 18th, 1850. "Sir. I had the honour to report to you, by the Nancy Dawson, that her 30

No. 8.-VOL XIX.

Majesty's ships under my command reached Possession Bay, in the Straits of Magellan, on the 10th April, where I found the Gorgon. The Investigator not having arrived I deemed it advisable to push on by myself, leaving orders with Capt. Paynter, to join me in the Straits on the 17th, should the Investigator not appear. We reached this place, being favoured with fine weather; and having stayed a day at Sandy Point, for the purpose of procuring fresh beef. On the morning of the 16th I had the happiness of being joined by the Gorgon, and the Investigator yesterday afternoon; so that we are now in a condition to face the most difficult portion of the navigation, with ten days' fuel, independent of what can be spared from the discovery ships in case of need, which I have little doubt, by choosing our time, will be sufficient to take us fairly into the Pacific. Yet as the period of our arrival in Bhering's Straits is drawing on so fast, I feel myself under the necessity of proceeding from here straight to the Sandwich Islands, lest by calling at Valparaiso would lessen the probability of my reaching the ice by the 1st of August. Under this conviction our provisions have been completed from the Gorgon, and with the ten days fresh beef we have obtained here, together with the stores their lordships have provided for the health of the crews, I have little doubt but that the object they had in view by ordering me to repair to that port will be attained, and that the health of the ships' companies will not be impaired by foregoing a relaxation, while the main object of their lordships' instructions would be lost.

To the Secretary of the Admiralty.

I have, &c.,

RICHARD COLLINSON, Captain.

LOSS OF THE "ORION" STEAMER.

The Orion, a regular packet, running between Glasgow and Liverpool, sailed from the latter port on Monday afternoon, and was wrecked on the rocks of Portpatrick.

The subjoined letter, and list of passengers booked at Liverpool, appeared in the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette. It is dated Portpatrick, June 18:"At one o'clock this morning the Orion (s), 460 horse-power, Henderson, master, on passage from Liverpool for Glasgow, ran on the rocks about a quarter of a mile from this harbour, and backing off with the flood tide, immediately sank in 7 fathoms water. The Orion left Liverpool at 4 P.M., on Monday, with a light breeze at N.W.; at midnight she passed the Mull of Galloway Light, when Mr. Henderson was on deck. He remained on deck until the vessel had passed the Dunsman's Head, about four miles from the Mull, and six from Portpatrick. He then went below and fell asleep on the sofa, directing the officer in charge of the watch, the course to be steered. At the hour stated he was aroused by the vessel running on the rocks; the engines were attempted to be set to work, but the rush of water into the vessel had extinguished the fires, and the engines were useless. Orders were then given to get the boats afloat, of which the vessel had four, but the rush of passengers on deck seriously impeded this operation. The two first boats that were got afloat, were swamped alongside by the rush of passengers into them; the other two boats were despatched with passengers, and landing safely, returned to the vessel. In the mean time the vessel settled down forward as she filled, and after a long time, she sunk aft, the crew and what remained of the passengers taking to the rigging, or clinging to the wreck and whatever was afloat. By this time the people of Portpatrick were aroused, and boats

1850.] SETTLING A KINGDOM MAN-OF-WAR FASHION.

467

from the shore went off to the rescue of the unfortunate people on board. At present it is impossible to estimate the numbers lost or saved, as the numbers of those on board cannot be accurately ascertained. According to Mr. Henderson, there were on board, cabin passengers, 117; steerage passengers, 42; crew, 38; total, 197. But several of the cabin passengers state, that their number was not less than from 140 to 145; and some estimate the steer. age passengers at 70. This would make the total number on board about 250; and the opinion is, that 150 have been seen alive since the wreck, including 35 of the crew."

[We transcribe the foregoing narrative of the loss of the Orion, on her passage from Liverpool to Greenock as an interesting record of the event. Of the conduct which led to it, by which so many lives were sacrificed we say nothing, as it is under judicial investigation; but we may observe with reference to it, that the master is reported to be of opinion, that the tide is not less felt in shore, than it is mid channel, while the mate who had charge of the deck was of a different opinion, and as soon as the master left him in charge, the mate accordingly hugged the shore. It is scarcely to be believed that the rock on which the Orion struck, was actually three feet above water at the time she struck, or that this same rock is not more than 5 or 6 fathoms from high water mark, being entirely dry at low water!

Yet so it is, and the first exclamation is against the charts! The Orion had seen the Inner Light of Portpatrick, having passed close to that pier, and had altered her course half a point further off shore before she struck! But did the master leave orders how she was to be steered, or was the Orion kept in shore in defiance of those orders, or to satisfy the mate's opinion of that being the proper course. In either case this was wrong; the master was responsible, and no one should be permitted to break his orders.]

Captain Denham, R.N., has been sent to Portpatrick by government to investigate the whole circumstances connected with the loss of the Orion. He was not long in obtaining such evidence as tended greatly to abridge his labours. It was proved to him, we understand, that the man at the helm and others of the crew remonstrated with the second mate for keeping so near the shore, but he refused to alter his course. The catastrophe was the consequence. This is almost unaccountable, for the second mate knew the channel better than any man in England; he had sailed through it during twenty years, and was selected for his especial knowledge. There is, however, in certain state of the tides, a strong current, and all vessels going to Glasgow keep as close as possible to the shore. The second mate unfortunately went too close. He is now in custody. It is generally understood that the second mate's watch is also the master's watch, but Captain Denham has decided that it is not.-Gore's Liverpool Advertizer.

SETTLING A KINGDOM MAN-OF-WAR FASHION.

ONE of Her Majesty's ships, while cruising on the African Station, was ordered to proceed to the Camaroon River, and deliver the presents to kings Bell and Aqua, in fulfilment of a treaty entered into with these sovereigns by the British Government for the suppression of the slave trade; and, on the morning after her arrival, at daylight, was surrounded by a number of war canoes, with fifty men in each, one division having king Bell and his chiefs on board, another division the eldest son of the late king Aqua, (who died since the delivery of the former presents,) and the other division the youugest son of the late king, who had deposed his elder brother and assumed the sovereignty. The captain declined receiving them on board till eight o'clock, when the colours were hoisted,

and a guard of marines ready to receive them, the officers wearing their swords and cocked hats. King Bell was the first to come on board, accompanied by his favourite wife and twelve of his chiefs; he was dressed in the full dress of a mail coach guard, with a petticoat instead of trousers; next was the eldest son of old Aqua, wearing an English General's full dress coat and epaulettes, no breeches, nor any substitute for them; last came Tim Aqua, the younger brother; he wore the full dress of a General Officer, and was decently clad in a pair of white duck trousers; and ankle boots, also a white beaver hat, with a blue silk band, and on it in letters of gold "King Aqua." The English resident at Bell Town also came on board and represented to the captain, that, in consequence of Tim having assumed the sovereighty, the trade of Aqua was stopped, much to the injury of the Liverpool merchants, whose agent he was, and requested the captain would use what authority he possessed to place the rightful heir in his proper position, and prevent Tim Aqua from taking upon himself the rank of his late father.

A palaver was immediately held on the quarter-deck, King Bell and the Aqua chiefs examined, when it was proved to the satisfaction of the captain, that the prince without the breeches was the eldest son of the late king, and consequently the rightful heir to the throne. The master-at-arms was ordered to disposses Tim of his emblem of sovereignty, by removing the blue band from his white hat; this ceremony appeared excessively disgusting to Tim Aqua, but having no power to resist, he quietly acquiesced and became a subject. The elder brother was then required to enter into the same treaty as his father had done, and sign the same in the presence of several witnesses, which having done, he was desired to go on his knees, and the captain drawing his sword, gave him the flat side between his shoulders, saying, "In the name of Victoria Queen of England, I acknowledge you King of the Aqua country." At the conclusion of the ceremony the marines presented arms, the chiefs cheered, and King Aqua was congratulated on being established on the throne of his forefathers. The younger brother, Tim, much hurt and excited at being deposed, asked the captain what he intended doing with him; he was told, "If he would take the oath of allegiance to the king his brother, and swear to serve him truly and honestly as his lawful Sovereign, and render all and every assistance in his power to British subjects trading to the Aqua country, he would be created Prince Royal." This Tim Aqua rather reluctantly agreed to, and having signed the necessary document in the presence of the former witnesses, he was desired to kneel, when the same ceremony was gone through as with the king, excepting the captain saying, "In the name of Victoria Queen of England, I create you Prince Royal of the Aqua country."

The presents were then delivered to Kings Bell and Aqua, consisting of, to each sovereign, 1 puncheon of rum, 20 barrels of gunpowder, 60 muskets, 20 bales of blue cotton cloth, and a general's uniform, coat and epaulettes, with a handsome sabre in a gold mounted velvet scabbard. King Aqua generously offered one-half of the presents he received to his brother Tim, now Prince Royal, no doubt fearing that if he had not done so, that when they reached the shore Tim might dispossess him of the whole. This division, except the rum and gunpowder, took place on the quarter-deck; and when the tin case, containing the general's coat and epaulettes was opened, the Prince Royal proposed to divide the coat by cutting it down the centre of the back, and the king to have one epaulette and himself the other. The king without the breeches appealed to the captain to prevent such an outrage. He decided that the coat and epaulettes was the insignia of sovereignty, appointed by the British Government to decorate the body of the lawful king, at the same time strongly impressing on the mind of His Majesty, that when he wore the coat and epaulettes, he ought, out of respect to Her Majesty and the British Government, always to put on a pair of breeches.

Thus in an hour, was one king deposed, another established, and the dynasty of an empire settled without bloodshed, by the captain of a British man-of-war. Uuited Service Gazette.

NEW BOOKS.

NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION to the Shores of the Arctic Seas in 1846 and 1847. By John Rae, Hudson Bay Company's Service.-Boone, London, 1850. For an Arctic Voyager, no one was better qualified than Dr. Rae; and therefore no one could have better performed the arduous task assigned to him than he did, either in overcoming all the difficulties and exposure to which he would be liable; or in the midst of them all, to obtain and preserve in his journal, those important but delicate observations with which exposure to the elements so little accords. Indeed, we hardly know which to admire most, the determined manner in which he and his party met every privation, or the deliberate careful attention he paid to the scientific duties required of him. For instance he says 66 as we were sleeping on shore we never thought of putting up any sort of shelter; the consequence was in the morning we were covered with snow to the depth of a foot." We read in one place of the night being mild (6° below freezing,) at another in a snow house, a luxury not often enjoyed that, "there was no fuel to be found, so we followed our old plan, and took a kettle or two of snow to bed with us," a mode of thawing it for the purpose of obtaining fresh water, which we presume, may be classed as an aerating process; but notwithstanding these cold hearted bedfellows, Dr. Rae says "Fortunately we all enjoyed excellent health, and our few discomforts instead of causing discontent furnished us with subjects of merriment. For instance, Hutchinson, about this time (February, 1847,) had his knee frozen in bed, and I believe the poor fellow (who by-the-bye was the softest of the party) was afterwards very sorry for letting it be known, as he got so heartily laughed at for his effeminacy." Someting like sea sickness in which (no one is pitied by his companions,) are these and similar adventures of the voyageurs of the Hudson's Bay Company. Every one knows the object of this expedition was to determine the Southern boundary of the Gulf of Boothia and well Dr. Rae has executed his task.

The book forms an important link in the chain of narrative of Arctic Discovery, for no collection of such works could have been complete without it, and is as full of interest as Arctic voyaging can hardly fail to render it. Here is a little bit of Esquimaux gossip in it.

"I had a good deal of conversation, through the interpreters, with Arksheek whom I found rather intelligent and communicative. It appears that the favorite food of these Esquimaux is musk ox flesh; venison ranks next, and bear and walrus was preferred to seal and fish. Their theory with regard to sun and moon is rather peculiar. It is said that many years ago, not long after the creation of the world, there was a mighty conjurer (Esquimaux of course) who gained so much power, that at last he raised himself up into the heavens, taking with him his sister (a beautiful girl) and a fire. To the latter he added great quantities of fuel which thus formed the sun. For some time

he and his sister lived in great harmony, but at last they disagreed, and he in addition to maltreating the lady in many ways, at last scorched one side of her face. She had suffered all sorts of indignities, but the spoiling of her beauty was not to be borne; she therefore ran away from him and formed the moon, and continues so until this day. Her brother is still in chase of her, but although he sometimes gets near, he will never overtake her. When it is new moon, the burnt side of the face is towards us; when full moon, the reverse is the case.

"The stars are supposed to be the spirits of the dead Esquimaux that have fixed themselves in the heavens; and falling stars, or meteors, and the aurora borealis, are those spirits moving from one place to another while visiting their friends."

A RUDIMENTARY TREATISE on the History, Construction, and Illumination of Lighthouses, by Alan Stevenson, L.S.B., &c.—Weale, London.

Of that valuable collection of Rudimentary Treatise in the course of publication by Mr. Weale, the above named little volume is specially interesting to