LENGTH OF SERVICE 141 



friends, for I am always improving myself, and it will give me a 

 greater claim on the scientific world.' The unscientific officers, 

 though doing their arduous work devotedly, were buoyed up 

 by no scientific enthusiasms, and with no chance of withdraw- 

 ing honourably from the task, felt it a hardship to be kept 

 in harness so long, having only calculated on a three years' 

 cruise. They were being outstripped by others on active 

 service, and the promotions that came to them in the guise of 

 special reward were already due for length of service, while 

 the * Terrors ' especially were nettled that when the Geo- 

 graphical Society gave Captain Boss their Gold Medal, no 

 word was uttered in recognition of the officers and crews by 

 whose labour and loyalty he had been able to push his explora- 

 tions so far. And Hooker writes home of a rumour that they 

 had wintered in the lonely Falkland Islands lest at any other 

 port the seamen might desert rather than face another expedi- 

 tion to the ice. All were delighted when they learned at the 

 Cape that they were to make their way slowly homeward by 

 St. Helena, Ascension, and Rio. 



The Admiralty rule that all collections, journals, and charts 

 made on the voyage should be handed over to the Department, 

 and Ross's keen desire that his account of the voyage should 

 not be forestalled by any public leakage of news, geographical 

 or scientific, hedged private letters round with difficulties. 

 It was expected that finally both Hooker's Journals and his 

 botanical collections would come back to him. Before leaving 

 England he had written to thank his grandfather, Dawson 

 Turner, for offering to help in getting his Journals ready for 

 the press when he returned, and added, * My Journal will be, 

 I hope, very full if not very good, and I shall send home extracts 

 to all my friends in the shape of letters to my father and grand- 

 father. These Journals on my return are to be given up to the 

 Admiralty, who will, I hope, send them to my Father, since 

 Capt. Ross has promised that he will use his endeavours 

 that the Botanical collections shall be sent to him.' Meantime 

 Hooker had urged his parents to keep his letters strictly within 

 the family circle. Even the sending home of an occasional 

 sketch to illustrate his travels, or of a pretty shell for his 



