730 THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. [cHAr. xx. 



exposed to storming by visitors. The crew were on several 

 occasions invited to the theatres there by the managers. Ex- 

 cursions to Pompeii had besides been arranged for them by the 

 consul for the united kingdoms, Clausen, who spared no pains to 

 make the stay of the expedition at Naples honouring to the 

 mother-country and as pleasant as possible to the guests, as well 

 as in arranging the more formal details of the visit. We 

 had besides the joy of meeting in Italy our comrade from 

 the severe wintering of 1872-3, Eugenio Parent, who soon 

 after had the misfortune to be in the tower of the ironclad 

 JJuilio, when the large Armstrong cannon placed there burst, 

 and the wonderful good fortune to escape with life and without 

 being seriously hurt from this dreadful accident. The only 

 mishap on board the Vega during the latter part of her long 

 voyage home occurred besides m the harbour of Naples, one of 

 the sailors who was keeping back an enthusiastic crowd of 

 people who stormed the Vega, being thrown down from the 

 bulwarks with the result that he broke an arm,^ 



On the 29th February the Vega left the harbour of Naples, 

 but no longer with her staff complete. Doctors Kjellman, 

 Almquist, and Stuxberg, and Lieut. Nordquist had preferred 

 the land route from Italy to Stockholm to the long detour by 

 sea, and Lieut. Bove was obliged, by family circumstances, to 

 leave the Vega at Naples. We, however, all met again at 

 Stockholm, At our departure from Naples the gunroom per- 

 sonnel thus consisted only of me, Captain Palander, and Lieuts. 

 Brusewitz and Hovgaard. 



Through M. A. Rabaut, President of the young, but already 

 so well known Geographical Society of Marseilles, I had re- 

 ceived repeated invitations to visit along with my companions 

 the birt.hplace of Pytheas, the first Polar explorer and the 

 discoverer of the Scandinavian Peninsula. With great reluct- 

 ance I was compelled to decline this invitation. We had to 

 hasten home, and I wished to save some days for a visit to the 

 fatherland of Henry the Navigator and Vasco DA Gam A. 



We sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar on the 9th March, 

 and anchored in the harbour of Lisbon on the 11th March at 

 2 P.M. The following day we made an excursion to the 

 beautiful palace of Cintra, situated about five Portuguese miles 

 from the capital. On Saturday we were received in audience 

 by the King, Dom Luiz, of Portugal, who, a seaman himself, 

 appeared to take a great interest in the voyage of the Vega. 

 Later in the day the Swedish minister in Lisbon gave a 



1 An accident also hajipened during the first half of the expedition, the 

 steersman, in backing among drift-ice, having been thrown over the wheel 

 and hurt very seriously. 



