﻿6 FRANKLIN S EXPEDITION. 1845. 



meet the first obstruction, if any exists. On board 

 we are as comfortable as it is possible to be. I 

 need hardly tell you how much we are all delighted 

 with our Captain. He has, I am sure, won not 

 only the respect but the love of every person on 

 board by his amiable manner and kindness to all ; 

 and his influence is always employed for some 

 good purpose both among the officers and men 

 He has been most successful in his selection of 

 officers, and a more agreeable set could hardly be 

 found. Sir John is in much better health than 

 when we left England, and really looks ten years 

 younger. He takes an active part in every thing 

 that goes on, and his long experience in such 

 services as this makes him a most valuable adviser. 

 July lOth. — The transport is just reported clear, 

 so I hope that we may be able to swing the ships 

 to-morrow and get away on Saturday, We are 

 very much crowded ; in fact, not an inch of stowage 

 has been lost, and the decks are still covered with 

 casks, &c. Our supply of coals has encroached 

 seriously on the ship's stowage; but as we con- 

 sume both this and provisions as we go, the evil 

 will be continually lessening." 



Letters from most of the other officers, written 

 in a similarly buoyant and hopeful spirit, were 

 received in England at the same time with the 

 above. An extract of a letter from Sir John 



