350 CONCLUSION. 



tlie most zealous promoters of the search, both 

 in and out of the House of Commons ; Monsieur 

 De la Roquette, Vice-President of the Geo- 

 graphical Society of Paris, and author of an 

 interesting biography of Franklin ; Rear- 

 Admiral Fitzroy ; and Major-General Pasley, 

 E.B., stand high amongst those whom it has 

 been my privilege to honour. 



Although much talent has been brought to 

 bear upon the deciphering of ihe letters found 

 in a pocketbook near Cape Herschel (page 274 

 ante), yet, from their being so very much de- 

 faced by time, only a few detached sentences 

 have been made out, and these do not in the 

 slightest degree refer to the proceedings of the 

 lost expedition. 



It will be seen that I have noticed (page 288) 

 the discrepancy between the number of souls 

 accounted for by the Point Victory Record, and 

 the generally received opinion that 138 indi- 

 viduals sailed in the ' Erebus ' and * Terror.' 



I am now enabled to state, on the authority 

 of the Admiralty, that only one hundred and 

 thirty-four individuals left the United Kingdom, 

 and of these five men subsequently returned : 

 one by H.M.S. 'Rattler,' and four by the trans- 

 port ' Barretto Junior ;' so that only one hun- 

 dred and twenty-nine — the exact number men- 



