CONCLUSION. 353 



of the after-part of the vessel, the rickety state of the stern-post, and other 

 parts, demanded immediate attention ; chain cables were passed under the 

 bottom of the ship to strengthen the loosened outer timbers or " doubling," 

 hove tight by the capstan, and fastened to ring-bolts on the quarter-deck. 

 Thus patched up, the " Terror," practically a wreck, was carried across the 

 Atlantic. On the 3d September, after one of the most extraordinary 

 voyages of modern times, she reached British waters, and was safely 

 anchored in Lough Swilly. Thus, after a year of constant danger and hard- 

 ship, Back's expedition of 1836-37 came to a close. The gallant commander 

 was not even permitted to reach the spot in which the original exploration 

 was to begin, and he returned without having had it in his power to add 

 anything to the geography or the scientific knowledge of his time. 



After the date 1837, Back no longer appears as an Arctic explorer ; but 

 from that date to the present time he has continued to take the keenest 

 interest in all voyages of discovery in Polar regions, in the organisation of 

 which Government have never failed to avail themselves of his judgment 

 and experience. For forty years he has continued to enjoy and to merit the 

 respect of the service and of the country. He was knighted in 1839, and 

 was promoted to the rank of Admiral in 1867. To his qualifications as an 

 explorer and a man of science he adds the gifts of a man of artistic culture. 

 His sketches are vivid reproductions of Arctic scenery and the incidents of 

 exploration ; and in taking leave of him here, it is with sincere gratitude 

 that the present writer pays a just tribute to his literary style. The study 

 of his works has been a pleasure, and their condensation an interesting task. 

 The narratives of many explorers are dull, heavy, clogged with iteration, 

 deluged with aimless and flavourless detail; but those of Admiral Sir 

 George Back are full of the picturesqueness and the humour which charac- 

 terise his pencil sketches of Arctic life and adventure. 



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