Apr. 1857. REFLECTIONS UPON THE UNDERTAKING. 11 



member of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club for 

 the period of my voyage. Lastly, upon the very 

 day of sailing, I was proposed for the Royal 

 Yacht Squadron, to which the yacht had pre- 

 viously belonged when the property of Sir 

 Richard Sutton. 



Throughout the whole period required for 

 our equipment I constantly experienced the 

 heartiest co-operation and earnest goodwill from 

 all with whom my varied duties brought me in 

 contact. Deep sympathy with Lady Franklin 

 in her distress, her self-devotion and sacrijBce 

 of fortune, and an earnest desire to extend suc- 

 cour to any chance survivors of the ill-fated 

 expedition who might still exist, or, at least, 

 to ascertain their fate, and rescue from oblivion 

 their heroic deeds, seemed the natural prompt- 

 ings of every honest English heart. It is need- 

 less to add that this experience of public opinion 

 confirmed my own impression that the glorious 

 mission intrusted to me was in reality a great 

 national duty. I could not but feel that, if the 

 gigantic and admirably equipped national ex- 

 peditions sent out upon precisely the same duty, 

 and reflecting so much credit upon the Board 

 of Admiralty, were ranked amongst the noblest 

 efforts in the cause of humanity any nation 

 ever engaged in, and that, if high honour was 



