NEWS FROM ENGLAND. 245 



messenger, as we looked at him with surprise. 

 " What ! Augustus ? — thank God ! " I replied 

 quickly. " Captain Ross, Sir — Captain Ross is 

 returned." " Eh ! are you quite sure ? is there 

 no error ? where is the account from ? " The 

 man paused, looked at me, and pointing with 

 his finger said, " You have it in your hand, 

 sir." It was so ; but the packet had been for- 

 gotten in the excitement and hurry of my feel- 

 ings. Two open extracts from the Times and 

 Morning Herald confirmed the tidings ; and 

 my official letter, with others from the long-lost 

 adventurers themselves — from Captain Ma- 

 conochie, Mr. Garry, Governor Simpson, and 

 many other friends, English and American, re- 

 moved all possible doubt, and evinced at the 

 same time the powerful interest which the event 

 had awakened in the public, by a great propor- 

 tion of whom the party had long since been 

 numbered among the dead. To me the in- 

 telligence was peculiarly gratifying, not only as 

 verifying my previously expressed opinions, but 

 as demonstrating the wisdom as well as the hu- 

 manity of the course pursued by the promoters 

 of our expedition, who had thereby rescued the 

 British nation from an imputation of indiffer- 

 ence which it was far indeed from meriting. 

 In the fulness of our hearts, we assembled to- 

 gether, and humbly offered up our thanks to 



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