18 INTRODUCTION. Chap. I. 



under circumstances the most favourable. And it is sin- 

 cerely to be hoped that Great Britain will not relax her 

 efforts until the question of a north-west passage has been 

 satisfactorily set at rest, or at least until those portions of 

 the northern shores of America, which are yet unknown, be 

 laid down in our maps ; and which, with the exception of a 

 small space on the Asiatic continent eastward of Shelatskoi 

 Noss, are the only intervals wanting to complete the outline 

 of Europe, Asia, and America." — p. 319. 



And I cannot but feel a proud gratification, which 



I am sure is shared by every true Englishman 



of whatever rank in society, in the perusal of the 



following honest and manly sentiments with which 



Captain Sir Edward Parry closes the narrative of 



his third voyage into the Arctic seas : — 



" Happy as I should have considered myself in solving 

 this interesting question, instead of still leaving it a matter 

 of speculation and conjecture ; happy shall I also be if any 

 labours of mine, in the humble, though it would seem 

 necessary office of pioneer, should ultimately contribute to 

 the success of some more fortunate individual ; but most 

 happy should I again be to be selected as that individual. 

 May it still fall to England's lot to accomplish this under- 

 taking ; and may she ever continue to take the lead in enter- 

 prises intended to contribute to the advancement of science, 

 and to promote, with her own, the welfare of mankind at 

 large ! Such enterprises, so disinterested as well as useful 

 in their object, do honour to the country which undertakes 

 them, even when they fail : they cannot but excite the 

 admiration and respect of every liberal and cultivated 

 mind ; and the page of future history will undoubtedly re- 

 cord them as every way worthy of a powerful, a virtuous, 

 and an enlightened nation " — p. 186. 



