472 THE JEANNETTE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



sailor. His sisters cried their welcome to him, and he pulled his 

 cap from his head like an overjoyed boy and flung it toward 

 them. It fell into the water, though intended to reach the 

 deck of the Catalpa; but no matter about the hat. 



The wildest excitement prevailed when the Parthia took the 

 lines of the tug, and preparations were making to open the freight 

 port amidships for the health officer. Friends of Nindermann, 

 Noros, and Berry saw their dear old faces above the railing of the 

 Bteamship and laughed and cheered and cried; Melville and his 

 family and fellow officers were hurriedly exchanging greetings, 

 and all the other passengers on both vessels were crowding to the 

 sides and hurrahing, except some in the steerage of the Parthia, 

 who took up the familiar air 



Home again! home again! 

 From a foreign shore. 



From a foreign shore, indeed! Wide open swung the iron 

 doors of the freight port, and up went the doctor, helped by a 

 dozen pairs of hands. At his heels was Lieutenant Jacques, who 

 was supposed to be the only other person to board the Parthia ; but 

 Commander Kane, Paymaster Skelding and several others fol- 

 lowed him. They brought down Melville, or rather they followed 

 him, for Melville was too eager to be brought, and the first arms 

 into which he fell, as he reached the deck of the tug, were those 

 of Chief Engineer Maggee. They embraced like lovers, Melville 

 dropping his head upon his old friend's shoulder and then kissing 

 him on the cheek, both of them in tears the while. The shouting 

 had to be done by the mere spectators now, for the voices of all 

 the others were choked with emotion. Melville embraced his 

 brother, and others of his companions in the navy, and then meet- 

 ing Captain Watton, fell upon his neck, and they cried together. 

 Those tears were for De Long, but not a word was necessary to 

 make it understood. 



Then Melville went back upon the steamship to look after his 

 luggage, and two boxes that were to be transferred to the tug, 

 the two boxes which, as he afterwards said, he had not once lost 

 sight of these many months, containing all that was found belong- 

 ing to De Long and his companions, including the log and the 

 private records. Melville's old comrades declared he looked 

 almost the same as ever, except that he had lost a little flesh, and 



