May 23, 1859.] OBITUARY.— PEEL— MECHAM. 265 



wounded, lie was employed in the Chinese seas, when, providentially 

 for our Indian empire, he was sent directly with troops by Lord 

 Elgin to Bengal, to aid in quelling the mutiny. Ascending the 

 Hoogly in the Shannon to Allahabad and Cawnpore, we all know 

 how, by his energy, heavy guns were brought into action, and how 

 materially he contributed to the capture of Lucknow, in which ope- 

 ration he was again wounded. Alas ! that after these triumphs he 

 should have been cut off by smallpox at the early age of thirty- 

 three ! 



In truth, every Englishman who looks mainly to our navy for 

 the preservation of our independence as a nation must deplore the 

 loss of such a hero at a critical period in our history, when the 

 defences of the country so seriously occupy the thoughts of all per- 

 sons, and particularly of all old soldiers and sailors.* 



Apart from his glorious but too short naval career, Captain Sir 

 William Peel had the true spirit and capacity of an explorer, and 

 had indeed already proved that he was a real working Fellow of the 

 Eoyal Geographical Society. His journey across Nubia f under the 

 severest privations convinced us that into whatever part of the 

 world he roamed, whether as a traveller in search of the truths 

 of Nature or in following the path of duty, he was unquestionably 

 one of those who, had he been spared, would have materially en- 

 riched geographical science. 



In short, whether we appeal to his brave messmates of both ser- 

 vices by whom he was sincerely beloved, to the explorers of distant 

 lands among whom he had enrolled himself, or to the public at large, 

 most certain is it that few men have ever fallen in the country's 

 cause who have been more affectionately remembered than William 

 Peel. 



Commander George Frederick Mecham, r.n., one of our Arctic 

 heroes, has been taken from us at the early age of thirty. 



He was promoted for his valuable Arctic services in the expedi- 

 tions of Captains Austin and Belcher, 1850-4, during which he made 

 the longest overland search on record. On his return he was ap- 

 pointed to the command of the Vixen, and, whilst in command of that 

 vessel, died suddenly at Honolulu of bronchitis. Shortly before 

 his decease he sent to this Society a paper on the different spe- 



* See the able work on our National Defences, by that distinguished strategist of 

 the days of the Peninsula and Waterloo, my valued friend Lieut.-General Shaw Kennedy, 

 C.B. (Murray, 1859.) 



f « Ride through the Nubian Desert.' (Longman.) 



