Chap. III. CAPTAIN DAVID BUCHAN. 75 



able account of the state of the ship, accompanied 

 by a terrific and well-executed print, descriptive of 

 her situation. " Her motion," he says, " was so 

 great that the ship's bell, which in the heaviest 

 gale of wind had never struck of itself, now tolled 

 so continually that it was ordered to be muffled, for 

 the purpose of escaping the unpleasant association 

 it was calculated to produce." After a few hours 

 the gale ceased, and the pack broke up sufficiently 

 to release the ships, which were so disabled that the 

 Dorothea was in a foundering condition. They 

 made the best of their way to Fair Haven in a 

 sinking state, where they repaired their damages as 

 well as they could ; it was obvious, however, there was 

 an end to any further attempt as regarded the main 

 object of the expedition. The Trent being the less 

 damaged of the two, Lieutenant Franklin requested 

 he might be allowed to proceed alone in the execu- 

 tion of the service. This could not be acceded to, 

 as, in the event which had occurred, Captain Buchan 

 was directed by his instructions to take command 

 of the Trent, provided her consort was rendered un- 

 serviceable; had he done so, the Dorothea, unac- 

 companied in her way home, might have risked 

 the lives of her crew in a^ ship so shattered and 

 unsafe. It was therefore decided that both should 

 return home ; and on the 30th August they put to 

 sea, and on the 22nd October arrived at Deptford. 



