On Saturday, September 29th, Captain Parry from his Arctic, and Captain Franklin from his North-American expedition, arrived at the Admiralty within half an hour of each other![3]

Captain Parry may himself be taken as a specimen of the health of his crew; he looks as well as when he set out on his bold undertaking.

The sum of the intelligence which has transpired is, that the Hecla having arrived at Hamerfest, took in the rein-deer for dragging the boats, snow-shoes, &c. for the journey over the ice.  Having reached the coast of Spitzbergen, a heavy gale drove the ship among packed ice, where she was entangled for several weeks, to the 6th of June.  Here the first effort to proceed in the manner projected was tried on two boats commanded by Captain Parry and Lieut.  Ross; but the ice broke up, and it was speedily relinquished.  The Hecla then wrought to the north as far as Seven Islands, where finding no harbour, she put back.  By the 19th of June, however, having cut through a formidable barrier, to the Wratskel of Van Henloopen, a second attempt to get forward in the ice-boats was strenuously made.  Unfortunately the ice was what is called rotten, and so irregular as to render success impossible.  Nothing could exceed the fatigues and difficulties of transport; the boats had to be loaded and unloaded many times in the course of a few hours; and no field-ice was met with, to any extent, over which they might glide on their way.  The party at last attained the latitude of 82 deg., and three quarters N.; or to between four and five hundred miles of the Pole.  Heavy rains prevailed, and the ice over which they were travelling so laboriously towards the north, was itself drifting more rapidly to the south than the distances which they could accomplish.  Thus, the last three days having been spent in this disheartening and fruitless toil,—­half the provisions being exhausted,—­some of the men falling sick, and being reported unfit for exertion,—­the scurvy threatening them,—­and no hope of any favourable change remaining—­our brave countrymen were compelled to abandon their impracticable design.  They accordingly returned to the Hecla, and on the 24th of September put into Longhope, in the Orkneys, without having experienced any loss by death.  The whole period occupied in these exertions on the ice is stated to have been sixty-one days.

The highest latitude to which the Hecla reached was 81 deg. 6 min. believed to be the farthest north that ever a ship made her way; so that all that was made in the boats was 1 deg. 39 min.  At the farthest point north, no barrier of ice was seen, so that the idea of such a barrier always existing may now be dismissed.  The ice found by the present expedition was of a very chaotic form.  For about a mile, perhaps, it might be tolerably smooth; but at every interval huge ridges were crushed up by the action of tides and currents.  No sooner was this obstacle over, and one of these rugged and precipitous masses