DEPASTURE OF THE "ALERT" AND "DISCOVERY." 



85 



" A sailor's life must be 

 Spent away on the far, far sea, 

 And little of him his wife may see," 



Sings Dr. Bennett; and the partings were not confined to mother or wife, but were 

 shared by many a father, brother, sister, and sweetheart, who were nevertheless proud of 

 the service in which their sailor-boy was to be engaged. Still prouder were they as, at 

 four o'clock, the vessels steamed out of the harbour; "such cheers upon cheers rent the air" 

 as, said our leading journal, " were never before heard in Portsmouth," while " an unbroken 



SIR GEORGE NARES. 



mass of waving hats and fluttering handkerchiefs " extended on the jetties, piers, and shore 

 away to and beyond the breakwater. The ships of war and the training ship St. Vincent 

 presented a sight not soon to be forgotten, covered as they were by living masses from 

 bulwarks to sky-sail yards of actual and embryo comrades in the service, delighting to 

 honour these adventurous men, departing for unknown seas and for an unknown period of 

 time. If there were any of those croakers present who tell us that the service has gone 

 to the dogs, and that the " true British sailor " is no more, they must have been silenced ; 

 while the enthusiasm of those who had come from far and near to witness the departure 

 of the expedition was but one more example of that special interest always displayed by 

 England in all matters pertaining to geographical discovery. The same love of adventure, 

 and the spirit to do and dare, which characterise our voyagers and travellers, permeates 

 very largely the masses of those who stay at home, for they are Britons still. 



