262 ARCTIC VOYAGES. Chap. VIII. 



other officers, were of opinion, " that an absolute 

 necessity existed for abandoning the Fury :" " my 

 own opinion," says Parry, " being thus confirmed, 

 as to the utter hopelessness of saving her, and 

 feeling more strongly than ever the responsibility 

 which attached to me, of preserving the Hecla un- 

 hurt, it was with extreme pain and regret that I 

 made the signal for the Fury's officers and men to 

 be sent for their clothes, most of which had been 

 put on shore with the stores." 



The incessant labour, the constant state of anx- 

 iety, and the frequent and imminent danger into 

 which the surviving ship was thrown, in the 

 attempts to save her comrade, which were continued 

 for five-and-twenty days, destroyed every reason- 

 able expectation hitherto cherished, of the ultimate 

 accomplishment of this object. " I was therefore," 

 says Parry, " reduced to the only remaining con- 

 clusion, that it was my duty, under all the circum- 

 stances of the case, to return to England, in com- 

 pliance with the plain tenor of my instructions. 

 As soon as the boats were hoisted up, therefore, 

 and the anchor stowed, the ship's head was put 

 to the north-eastward, with a light air off the land, 

 in order to gain an offing, before the ice should 

 again set in-shore." 



A breeze springing up on the 27th from the 

 northward, immediate advantage was taken of it 

 for the Hecla to stretch over to the eastern shore of 



