ELISHA KENT KANE. 75 



tender sentiments toward her. And it would also 

 appear that the young lady was not unworthy of 

 the distinguished alliance which she anticipated; 

 and that she appreciated the admirable qualities of 

 her lover and her obligations to him. It is probable 

 that had they been united they would have had no 

 reason to regret it. Nevertheless, such a result was 

 not destined to occur. The causes which eventually 

 dissolved the intimacy between them aie not known 

 with certainty. People do not proclaim these things 

 from the house-top through a trumpet. Bat the ill 

 health of Dr. Kane, the absorbing interest w r hich he 

 took in accomplishing a second journey to the Arctic 

 regions, the engrossing literary labor necessary to 

 prepare the narrative of his first expedition for 

 the press, and the uncertainty of his future fate, are 

 most probably the reasons why his marriage with 

 the amiable and beautiful seeress was never con- 

 summated. 



The interval which occurred between Dr. Kane's 

 return from his first Arctic journey and his second, 

 was an active one, although during the summer of 

 1853 his health became more than usually feeble. 

 He was then overworking himself in writing the 

 narrative of his first journey, and in endeavoring to 

 obtain the necessary permission and means for his 

 second. A portion of the time was spent in lee- 



